Chapter 6: A Bit Of Qi Utilization

Approximately three hundred meters from the hill, on which Zax was standing with a wide expression of wonder on his face that quickly changed to an expression of utmost sense of achievement, Zetsa was watching her little brother with bated breath.

How long as she being doing it, observing Zax from afar whenever she left him on top of the chosen fourth location? "Since the very beginning" was the answer. Yes, it was not in Zetsa calculation that Zax's soul was so exceptional that it could develop a Soul Sense. Such strange occurrence has made it difficult for her to estimate when it happened, which is why up until Zax showed the severe reaction to the environmental essence in a cave that was part of the beasts' territory even he was not fully aware of this ability.

"He actually made it". Zetsa sighed and with no time to spend she leaped from one tree's branch to another, toward the hill. "An F level soul that could use soul attacks and has Soul Sense ... No! It was within his capabilities when his soul was at the top phase of level G! How terrifying, little Zi, your strong points differ than mine so I can only guess the benefits of naturally breaking through the juncture of level F with your soul". Zetsa praised her little brother\Tal. "Here you are!"

"Big sis!" For the first time in a long time Zax Jumped on his big sister with the affection of a jolly little boy. His enormous achievement made him forget his sore body and Qi channels. "Hahaha ... I knew you were behind me without even looking, hahaha..." Zax cheerfully declared. He was saying the truth, after just advancing to level F the condition of Zax's soul was at its peak and his Soul Sense extended to a radius of a hundred and thirty centimeters in which his inner mind was aware of every little thing and change in the environment. Because of that, Zax was not surprised to see his big sister suddenly appear from behind him and was even the first to call aloud.

"What was that? You say that you were able to tell that I was behind you?!" Zetsa questioned the words she thought came out of Zax's mouth and with him hugging her body like a little monkey she unconsciously touched her ears, to see if they were working right.

"What? You don't believe me? Fine I'll show you!" Zax got down from his big sister, turned his back to her and walked a few steps. "Do anything that you want, but don't go too far and I'll tell you exactly what you are doing without looking". He urged her.

"Do something? Do what, Zax, stop playing. Your body and Qi channel went through a great ordeal of stress and tension. Come on, I'll carry you, we are going home". External appearance was enough for one to grasp the state in which Zax's body was in. A little probing with her own Soul Sense allowed Zetsa to also figure the state of his Qi channels. Furthermore, what did Zax just ask of her? To entertain the idea that his Soul Sense could extend beyond skin and hair, past one meter!

How could she believe it? A Mist User in the Core Breaker level, even at the peak of the exalted level, can extend his or her Soul Sense at most to a radius of a hundred and five centimeters. Zax took it one big step farther, literally! Zetsa did not accept nor believed that. The benefits of naturally advancing to level F, in regards to Soul Sense, she expected them to be somewhat beneficial, but not to an extent that surpasses the proficiencies of a Mist User in the Core Breaker level!

"I was four steps from Zax when I arrived behind him, roughly the length of one meter. I didn't hide my presence when I came forward ... It doesn't matter. One meter is still too long and he noticed me before I approached him. How unreasonable is it?!" Zetsa probed the scenes of a moment ago in her mind. "A skill that only Core Breakers can develop, for Zax who now has a soul at level F, a radius of ten to twenty centimeters for his Soul Sense is already beyond my expectations. Fine, let's test it".

Zetsa stood exactly one hundred and ten centimeters from Zax. "Which hand am I holding up?"

"Your left". Zax replied instantly. "I can tell even if you stood a little bit farther. It's weird, after I divided my mind I could detect, if I wanted, what's happening around me easily. Even the threatening feeling from before, the one that hunted me..." Although he was already past that uncontrollable sensation that ran amuck through every fiber of his being, addressing it with words or in his inner mind still caused a deep distressing response to his soul, especially now that he could interpret its origins.

"Look here, Zax". Zetsa bent her legs in a sitting position and with her finger drew a short line on ground. "This is the length of one centimeter". She explained. "The thing that enables you to sense the environment to a certain degree is called "Soul Sense". Try to extend the reach of your Soul Sense with the inner mind as far as you can and then count how many lines like this one you can place in a sequential order. Oh, and start from the center, where you are standing".

"A hundred and thirty lines, big sis". Using the perception of the inner mind, Zax needed ten seconds to count. He did not have to put any effort to the task, though at the Beginner phase of the F level, Zax benefited in more than just his Soul Sense. The quality of his soul had no parallel within the scope of the F level. To place imaginary lines and count them in a certain order in ten seconds was a plain assignment.

Even so, Zax's unique soul was not able to process and interprets everything within the radius of his Soul Sense as fast as a Core Breaker, or even an E level Mist User, if there was one who had a Soul Sense. If Zax tried his hardest it still would have taken him at least eight seconds to count all the lines.

"That's wonderful, little Zi". Astonished from the conformation, Zetsa lifted her brother from the ground and held him with hands stretched. "My little Zi is so magnificent!"

"Haha..." Zax laughed.

"You've done well, little Zi, much better than me, I must say". Zetsa took him close to her bosom, ready to depart from the hill. "Are you well?" She asked.

"Yes". Zax replied with a soft smile and drained face. A warm and fuzzy feeling radiated from his big sister's body, entered his body and slowly relived its soreness like a strong sedative.

"Then say goodbye. We won't return here in the near future".

"Goodb..." Zax murmured, relaxed finally and with closed eyes.

April First.

Zax woke up after sleeping soundly for twelve hours. "So GOOOOD!" He exclaimed when he realized that his body, Qi channels and soul were no longer aching, as he was already used to due to the constant anguish and forgot how it felt to wake up peacefully.

"Grughghg!" Zax's stomach growled. "I want to eat!" Huge appetite suddenly overtook him. "Meat! Eggs! I want to drink orange juice! Mom! I'm hungry! Make me something big to eat". He ran exited to the living room. "Mom!"

"Shhh ... Quiet down, Zax". A silent voice whispered from the living room. "Mom and dad are sleeping".

"Sleeping?" Zax turned his head to the source of the voice, but it was dark in the living room. Actually with was dark all over the house and even outside of it. "Big sis?" Using his soul sense he made his away to the living room and the sofa on which Zetsa lay.

"Zax, are you up?" The lights in the living room turned on. Marco and Laylen stood next to each other in their pajamas.

"Make me something to eat, mom, I'm hungry!" Zax pleaded. It was night and he spoke aloud, but he really was hungry, too hungry to pay attention to the sleepy faces of his parents or slightly care.

"Zax?" Both Marco and Laylen were surprised at their son change of attitude that they continued to stand, holding each other. "Are you really hungry, do you want to eat?" Laylen asked gently, afraid of sounding imposing, afraid to scare away the spark she had not seen for a long while and now, all of a sudden, returned to her son's eyes.

"He is well, mom, dad, Zax finished this long session of training. He got back to his usual self. His soul advanced to the level of a F level Mist User". Zetsa informed their parents with an apologetic smile.

They returned home around ten o'clock at night and at that time their parents were already asleep. Zetsa decided to wait until the morning, but now was as good time as ever to tell them that their little boy "resurrected".

"Will you make me something to eat?"

"Zax!" Laylen burst into tears and grabbed her son tightly between her arms. "You are okay, Zax, my Zax, my Zax. Sure honey, anything you want, mommy will make anything for you".

"Laylen..." Marco eyes reddened. Was it not worried about his son? Was he not worried about his wife? He was. The cool head of the family, lenient in times, strict in others. He carried himself day in day out with a firm disposition for his son to turn to, for his wife to lean on, for his daughter to speak unrestrained.

At last, the pretense was no longer necessary.

Massaging his forehead and eyes, Marco exhaled heavily once, as if released from a great burden. "Our son, a coreless boy, has reached level F with his soul, Laylen". He spread his arms around his wife and son. "Did you ever think that it will be possible ... for our son, without an Earth's Core?"

"It's not important, Marco. Zax his back, look at him, look at his eyes".

"And his stomach, mom, don't forget the stomach! I'm hungry!" Zax added.

"Sure, I won't dare. Let's make a feast for all of us to enjoy. But don't make too much noise. It's still night". Laylen laughed, clearing the streams of tears on her bright face.

After the midnight meal, Zax took a warm shower with Zetsa while Marco cleaned the dishes and Laylen prepared new sheets for his bed since the old ones were dirtied by his sweaty and dusty clothes that he wore since his last session of training and went to sleep in.

The next morning Zax woke up around seven o'clock in the morning. He was not tired, but he felt that if he allowed himself he could sleep for the fun of it for days.

"Don't gobble. Eat slowly". Zetsa served him a bowl of hot porridge.

"But it's tasty!" Zax said with a full mouth.

"Your body consumed small portion of food for almost two months. If you'll force too much too fast you'll harm your body". Zetsa educated, afterwards Zax's eating pace slowed down a little.

"What are we gonna do today? Are we going the grandpa Ger's farm?" Zax asked.

In three days he and all the other ten years old kids of cave twenty five will depart to the place where the Great Earth's Core Pursuit will occur and even though he reached the goal of his soul training, he was a little bit anxious and did not want to simply wait at home for the awaited date.

"No, we'll go to my place. You don't have enough time for a new training session, but don't you want to learn some cool techniques that you can execute with your Qi?"

"Eh ... Ehhhh!"

Outside the abandoned construction site which was Zetsa's incomplete apartment building, what was meant to the receiving lawn by now sprout into unruly greenery.