Chapter 2
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"Wake up."
Braedon slept peacefully throughout the night. He felt extremely comfortable, after the tiresome day, to just lay there and rest.
"Wake up!"
He turned over in his bed. He felt as if he could hear a strange, sort of robotic, voice talking in his ears.
"WAKE UP!"
Braedon shot up, wide awake. He was sure of it this time, something was speaking to him. He sat upright in his bed looking around for the person who was speaking.
"You won't be able to find me that easily." Braedon quickly jumped out of his bed and placed himself against the wall.
"Where and who are you!" The voice simply answered, "I don't know." At first it sounded like it was speaking to his left ear, but suddenly it changed to the right.
"How did you...?" Braedon said but before he finished something appeared before him.
He panicked, fell down, and smacked his head against the wall. "I swear if you pass out one more time..." the voice said in a cheerful yet disapproving manner.
"Huh? How did you..." once more he was cut off by the voice, no, after Braedon quickly collected himself. He looked forward and saw an orb in front of him. A floating without strings orb.
"Memories are easy to read, especially when you're asleep." The orb said with a voice that sounded like a computer A.I. But with much more personality.
"Who are you again?" Braedon felt like he was in a dream, as the orb flew around his head and landed on his bed.
"My name is... I don't have one, and I don't have many of my memories either. I believe you call this type of thing, amnesia."
As the orb rolled over to Braedon, it started to glow a bit, "The first thing I remembered was falling to this planet in a meteorite long ago. From there, I have been able to remember a few things, but none of it was really useful to me. Or told me what I am exactly. I did get bits and pieces though"
Braedon sat there and decided to calmly speak with the orb. Surprisingly, the orb was very chatty and despite always interrupting Braedon mid sentence, it was quite polite.
It was early morning, and Braedon listened to the story of the orb for some time. He was sure at first that this was a prank by one of his friends, but dismissed that idea once the orb allowed him to touch it and see no string, speakers, or battery holder were on it.
After talking for awhile, Braedon decided to ask it a question on his mind.
"So, you don't remember your name?" Braedon was getting tired of calling it just 'orb'. The orb stopped flying for a second and spun in midair. This was its way of shaking its head,
"Correction, I don't have a name, My consciousness and memories were sealed away for a long time, only to be awakened once I find a master. My body would scan the terrain, watch for outsiders, and await for someone to become my owner."
"Now that I have awakened, only a small part of my memories were unlocked but I don't know how to get the rest." The orb sadly said.
It stopped spinning and faced him, well Braedon assumed it was facing him since it didn't have a face. "Then you came along! After you made contact with me, I decided to make you my master since you were the first (living) person I had met in years."
"Then can I give you a name?" Braedon said while rubbing the back of his head where he bumped it. The orb 'nodded' and danced around happily, "Of course!"
"How about...Glode?"
""Glode? What does that mean?" The name was something the orb had never heard of before. Braedon smiled while giving his answer.
"It's globe with a 'D' instead of 'B'."
Glode just looked on stupefied as if he had heard the silliest thing in the world.
After a few second Braedon realized what Glode just said "Wait, so you're saying that since I was the first living person to make contact with you, I became your master? Aren't you choosing a master too easily?"
Glode once more spun, "No, it takes a lot of luck and hard work to become my master...and I was getting bored."
Braedon slapped his forehead in exasperation. Glode flew around his head and landed on his shoulder like an excited bird. "So, what's the point of being your master, do I have to do anything now?"
At this point, Braedon wasn't that surprised about everything Glode had said. The more he thought of it, the more he understood that there were mysteries that couldn't be explained in the world.
"You don't need to do much, just make a few preparations before you explode."
"WAIT WHAT!" Braedon ran up and grabbed Glode, "What do you mean explode?" Glode quickly said, "Well, to become my master, I had to merge with your body. Due to the great amount of power I release passively, your body can't handle it and will eventually explode."
Braedon's eye started to twitch as he looked at his own reflection on Glode "But I didn't even want to be your master." He thought this to himself while trying to crush Glode.
"Master...master that kind of hurts." Braedon brought Glode close to his face and said, "Is there anyway to NOT blow up?" Glode quickly nodded and Braedon slowly released him, "How?"
"Practicing Phoenix Might!"
Braedon looked at Glode bewildered, "Phoenix Might?"
Glode nodded and said, "From the memories I read, your world has a similar concept called cultivating."
At this Braedon ears perked up and he listened with interest, "You mean like in the novels and movies!?" When Braedon was young, he loved reading about the scholarly heroes who could fly around and defeat villains. He didn't even question how impossible the idea sounded considering what Glode was.
He always loved to imagin what it was like to be them and he even pretended to be like them for some time. Of course this was dark history that he usually didn't speak about.
Glode nodded to itself and tried to explain, "The concept is correct, basically I was able to collect some data that allowed me to create a way for you to...cultivate. If you can follow through then, theoretically you should not go Kaboom!"
"Wait what do you mean theoret-" before Braedon finished, Glode once again rushed in and interrupted him, "We have no time to lose, let's go!" Braedon quickly got himself ready as he followed Glode all the way back to the abandoned area.
He noticed that prettty much everyone around them was not looking at the floating orb flying next to him. When he questioned Glode about this, he simply answered that only a select amount of people can see him. To everyone else he doesn't exist.
Braedon realized that his future reputation might become, "The guy who talks to himself" and made a mental reminder to watch if anyone listening when he spoke to Glode.
Once they reached the area, Glode turned to Braedon, "Now we just need to merge." Braedon confusedly said, "Merge?" All of a sudden Glode rammed straight into his chest and dug in. It didn't hurt, oddly enough, so Braedon kept quiet. He noticed that rather than Glode actually entering his chest, it was more like he was becoming pure energy that entered into Braedon's body.
Braedon felt like parched land that was suddenly given water. His body quickly absorbed the energy being given off and he felt invigorated. "What is this feeling?" Glode quickly answered his question in his head, "The aura of Phoenix Might, with this the impurities of your body will be extracted and removed. Master, prepare yourself, be careful...and I'm sorry."
Braedon didn't understand what he meant until a few seconds later when he started to hack and cough. He could barely breathe and he felt like his lungs were about to collapse. Braedon started vomiting out a liquid, black substance that quickly evaporated into the air.
He felt intense pain, as if his gut had been stabbed with a red, hot knife. His skin started to turn red as instead of the black substance, he started to spit out blood instead. "What ~*cough*~ is ~*retch*~ happening." Glode stayed silent and didn't answer him. Braedon started to claw at the ground as his skin became incredibly dry and started to crack.
Several dozen small wounds started to open as tears streamed down his face. Blood was dripping everywhere and Braedon's vision was slowly going dark. "Is this how I die?" Braedon had a terrifying thought. He clenched his teeth in anger at the thought and he started to stand.
He had an incredible urge to scratch himself, but he held back. He could taste iron due to the blood he was vomiting. A small black and red pool was forming below him as he kneeled down and smashed his head to the ground. He ground his teeth together and then he heard a voice, "Hold on master! I know it hurts but please hold on a little longer!"
Braedon understood that it was Glode and he didn't know if it was because of Glode's tearful voice or his stubbornness, but he accepted Glode's advice and kept resisting the pain. He started to scream at the top of his lungs.
The black substance and blood underneath him mixed together and small spirals of the strange liquid rose up from the pool. They started to harden and form sharp knives at their ends, then each spiral pierced him but instead of hurting, the tentacles became bright light that actually felt a little comfortable.
Unfortunately, this comfort only lasted for a second before the pain resumed.
Blood was pouring out of his seven orifices. His heart was beating at a rapid pace and just before he felt like his chest would burst. The pain lessened and finally stopped.
Braedon sat there bloodied and bruised all over, he felt as if he just fought an intense battle. His arms were trembling and he couldn't see. No sounds entered his ears and he could barely feel anything. It was as if he was numb to the world.
Braedon started to fall back and for the third time that week, he passed out.
Glode looked at Braedon with sadness in his heart and looked at the data sheet that appeared before him.
Braedon
Level 1: Phoenix embryo
Race: human
Lifespan: 150 years
Weapons and skills: none
Potential: average
Glode looked at the sheet and faced his new master. He didn't tell him about the plan he conceived and he didn't help himself prepare mentally or physically. It was worth it, since he survived in the end.
There were cultivators all over the world, but they took several years to break through their mortality and start upon their path.
Braedon at most only had a day or two to live, so Glode took drastic measure and injected some of his strength into Braedon. Of course this was something he could do only once a year, and even then he could only use the same skill at half strength from hence forth.
Glode looked peacefully at Braedon's sleeping face and watched as his dried skin peeled off to reveal, flawlessly smooth and pale skin.
All of his cuts and bruises were healed and even his blood was restored at an astounding speed. Braedon's seemed less muscular than they originally were but in return he received even more tight and toned muscles that held an incredible amount of strength.
Every breath he took released a bit of the leftover impurities he had in his body. Glode felt extremely bad about tricking Braedon though. Although he was just a small orb, a deep sense of loyalty was instilled into his core. Since Braedon became his master, he was willing to do whatever he could to help him, although what he could do was limited.
Glode looked at the potential and read the "average" a few times. He pondered by himself before saying something quietly, "That will change, I will make sure of it."
Braedon woke up a few hours later, with an intense headache.
"Did I survive?"
Glode floated nearby and spun around him, "Yes, you made it!"
As soon as Glode appeared in front of Braedon, he questioned him, "What happened?"
Glode started to slowly stop spinning and float over to Braedon, like a child who knows they did something bad but they have to report to their parents.
Glode explained the situation, from how long he had till 'boom town' to his master plan. Apparently there was a chance for Braedon to visit 'TNT World' when he absorbed a bit of Glode's strength, but Glode believed that it was safer than trying to get him to the first stage of cultivation in two days.
"I was afraid that you would be too nervous to go through with the plan so I didn't tell you about it... I-I'm sorry." Glode apologizes and rolled over to him, which would probably been cute if he was a dog or cat.
At first Braedon was shocked to realize how close he was to death, but then after Glode apologize he actually was a little angry. But before he made an outburst, he calmed himself down and thought the situation through.
There were no other alternatives and he technically did survive the ordeal.
And to be honest, Braedon would've been too distracted about the whole exploding thought and that could've negatively affected his results.
Plus from the novels he read, he figured that becoming a level 1 cultivator from a mortal in two days was almost impossible. That and nothing in the world was free. If he wanted to quickly gain power, he needed to be ready to take some risks.
There was also nothing he could've done better. Braedon, shocking, was calmly thinking about all of this despite being so close to death.
This was because Phoenix Might came with the passive bonus of giving him a more calm and collected mind and heart compared to others. Of course, he didn't know about this until later on.
It was a nice feeling and Braedon didn't mind it too much.
Braedon looked at Glode, who was rolling near his feet, and sighed. "I don't blame you for what you did, but you should have a little more faith in me. After all I am now your master and I don't want to be the useless kind."
"Is it possible for me to go through that again and keep breaking through level?" If Braedon only had to go through that same amount of pain again to level up, it would've been worth it. He survived once and he just need to mentally prepare himself to face it again.
Glode spun around midair, "No, that was enough power only for a mortal to reach the first step and they wouldjust be at the very first step as well, from there you need to properly study some cultivation techniques to grow stronger."
"It will take a year before I could do that again and by then if you're still at level 1, it will at most just fill up ten percent of your maximum strength."
"So your saying that that skill of yours is super effective on normal people, but for official cultivators it's just a small recharge?" Braedon understood the gist of it but asked to make sure. Glode said that he was correct and Braedon just nodded.
After saying that and getting Glode to calm down, Braedon's eyes started to sparkle as he walked alongside Glode. "So tell me what do I get now that I've become a cultivator? Can I fly? Or maybe I'm faster than a car. Or maybe I have some super awesome technique!"
Braedon rattled on excitedly about the possibilities until Glode rained over his parade, "None of that is currently possible master."
This significantly lowered Braedon's enthusiasm but he held onto hope with a few keywords, "Currently? Then all of those things are possible?"
Glode nodded and Braedon rubbed his chin for a second, "Hey Glode. While we walk home, how about you explain to me some things about cultivation and your past. I'm actually curious on who you are and where you came from, so let's find out together. Okay?"
Glode shined even more brightly as he flew around all over the place, "Absolutely master! I'm super curious about my past too, and I promise to explain to you about cultivation to the best of my abilities."
Braedon smiled at this as he thought to himself, "I feel like we are going to be great partners."
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"Wake up."
Braedon slept peacefully throughout the night. He felt extremely comfortable, after the tiresome day, to just lay there and rest.
"Wake up!"
He turned over in his bed. He felt as if he could hear a strange, sort of robotic, voice talking in his ears.
"WAKE UP!"
Braedon shot up, wide awake. He was sure of it this time, something was speaking to him. He sat upright in his bed looking around for the person who was speaking.
"You won't be able to find me that easily." Braedon quickly jumped out of his bed and placed himself against the wall.
"Where and who are you!" The voice simply answered, "I don't know." At first it sounded like it was speaking to his left ear, but suddenly it changed to the right.
"How did you...?" Braedon said but before he finished something appeared before him.
He panicked, fell down, and smacked his head against the wall. "I swear if you pass out one more time..." the voice said in a cheerful yet disapproving manner.
"Huh? How did you..." once more he was cut off by the voice, no, after Braedon quickly collected himself. He looked forward and saw an orb in front of him. A floating without strings orb.
"Memories are easy to read, especially when you're asleep." The orb said with a voice that sounded like a computer A.I. But with much more personality.
"Who are you again?" Braedon felt like he was in a dream, as the orb flew around his head and landed on his bed.
"My name is... I don't have one, and I don't have many of my memories either. I believe you call this type of thing, amnesia."
As the orb rolled over to Braedon, it started to glow a bit, "The first thing I remembered was falling to this planet in a meteorite long ago. From there, I have been able to remember a few things, but none of it was really useful to me. Or told me what I am exactly. I did get bits and pieces though"
Braedon sat there and decided to calmly speak with the orb. Surprisingly, the orb was very chatty and despite always interrupting Braedon mid sentence, it was quite polite.
It was early morning, and Braedon listened to the story of the orb for some time. He was sure at first that this was a prank by one of his friends, but dismissed that idea once the orb allowed him to touch it and see no string, speakers, or battery holder were on it.
After talking for awhile, Braedon decided to ask it a question on his mind.
"So, you don't remember your name?" Braedon was getting tired of calling it just 'orb'. The orb stopped flying for a second and spun in midair. This was its way of shaking its head,
"Correction, I don't have a name, My consciousness and memories were sealed away for a long time, only to be awakened once I find a master. My body would scan the terrain, watch for outsiders, and await for someone to become my owner."
"Now that I have awakened, only a small part of my memories were unlocked but I don't know how to get the rest." The orb sadly said.
It stopped spinning and faced him, well Braedon assumed it was facing him since it didn't have a face. "Then you came along! After you made contact with me, I decided to make you my master since you were the first (living) person I had met in years."
"Then can I give you a name?" Braedon said while rubbing the back of his head where he bumped it. The orb 'nodded' and danced around happily, "Of course!"
"How about...Glode?"
""Glode? What does that mean?" The name was something the orb had never heard of before. Braedon smiled while giving his answer.
"It's globe with a 'D' instead of 'B'."
Glode just looked on stupefied as if he had heard the silliest thing in the world.
After a few second Braedon realized what Glode just said "Wait, so you're saying that since I was the first living person to make contact with you, I became your master? Aren't you choosing a master too easily?"
Glode once more spun, "No, it takes a lot of luck and hard work to become my master...and I was getting bored."
Braedon slapped his forehead in exasperation. Glode flew around his head and landed on his shoulder like an excited bird. "So, what's the point of being your master, do I have to do anything now?"
At this point, Braedon wasn't that surprised about everything Glode had said. The more he thought of it, the more he understood that there were mysteries that couldn't be explained in the world.
"You don't need to do much, just make a few preparations before you explode."
"WAIT WHAT!" Braedon ran up and grabbed Glode, "What do you mean explode?" Glode quickly said, "Well, to become my master, I had to merge with your body. Due to the great amount of power I release passively, your body can't handle it and will eventually explode."
Braedon's eye started to twitch as he looked at his own reflection on Glode "But I didn't even want to be your master." He thought this to himself while trying to crush Glode.
"Master...master that kind of hurts." Braedon brought Glode close to his face and said, "Is there anyway to NOT blow up?" Glode quickly nodded and Braedon slowly released him, "How?"
"Practicing Phoenix Might!"
Braedon looked at Glode bewildered, "Phoenix Might?"
Glode nodded and said, "From the memories I read, your world has a similar concept called cultivating."
At this Braedon ears perked up and he listened with interest, "You mean like in the novels and movies!?" When Braedon was young, he loved reading about the scholarly heroes who could fly around and defeat villains. He didn't even question how impossible the idea sounded considering what Glode was.
He always loved to imagin what it was like to be them and he even pretended to be like them for some time. Of course this was dark history that he usually didn't speak about.
Glode nodded to itself and tried to explain, "The concept is correct, basically I was able to collect some data that allowed me to create a way for you to...cultivate. If you can follow through then, theoretically you should not go Kaboom!"
"Wait what do you mean theoret-" before Braedon finished, Glode once again rushed in and interrupted him, "We have no time to lose, let's go!" Braedon quickly got himself ready as he followed Glode all the way back to the abandoned area.
He noticed that prettty much everyone around them was not looking at the floating orb flying next to him. When he questioned Glode about this, he simply answered that only a select amount of people can see him. To everyone else he doesn't exist.
Braedon realized that his future reputation might become, "The guy who talks to himself" and made a mental reminder to watch if anyone listening when he spoke to Glode.
Once they reached the area, Glode turned to Braedon, "Now we just need to merge." Braedon confusedly said, "Merge?" All of a sudden Glode rammed straight into his chest and dug in. It didn't hurt, oddly enough, so Braedon kept quiet. He noticed that rather than Glode actually entering his chest, it was more like he was becoming pure energy that entered into Braedon's body.
Braedon felt like parched land that was suddenly given water. His body quickly absorbed the energy being given off and he felt invigorated. "What is this feeling?" Glode quickly answered his question in his head, "The aura of Phoenix Might, with this the impurities of your body will be extracted and removed. Master, prepare yourself, be careful...and I'm sorry."
Braedon didn't understand what he meant until a few seconds later when he started to hack and cough. He could barely breathe and he felt like his lungs were about to collapse. Braedon started vomiting out a liquid, black substance that quickly evaporated into the air.
He felt intense pain, as if his gut had been stabbed with a red, hot knife. His skin started to turn red as instead of the black substance, he started to spit out blood instead. "What ~*cough*~ is ~*retch*~ happening." Glode stayed silent and didn't answer him. Braedon started to claw at the ground as his skin became incredibly dry and started to crack.
Several dozen small wounds started to open as tears streamed down his face. Blood was dripping everywhere and Braedon's vision was slowly going dark. "Is this how I die?" Braedon had a terrifying thought. He clenched his teeth in anger at the thought and he started to stand.
He had an incredible urge to scratch himself, but he held back. He could taste iron due to the blood he was vomiting. A small black and red pool was forming below him as he kneeled down and smashed his head to the ground. He ground his teeth together and then he heard a voice, "Hold on master! I know it hurts but please hold on a little longer!"
Braedon understood that it was Glode and he didn't know if it was because of Glode's tearful voice or his stubbornness, but he accepted Glode's advice and kept resisting the pain. He started to scream at the top of his lungs.
The black substance and blood underneath him mixed together and small spirals of the strange liquid rose up from the pool. They started to harden and form sharp knives at their ends, then each spiral pierced him but instead of hurting, the tentacles became bright light that actually felt a little comfortable.
Unfortunately, this comfort only lasted for a second before the pain resumed.
Blood was pouring out of his seven orifices. His heart was beating at a rapid pace and just before he felt like his chest would burst. The pain lessened and finally stopped.
Braedon sat there bloodied and bruised all over, he felt as if he just fought an intense battle. His arms were trembling and he couldn't see. No sounds entered his ears and he could barely feel anything. It was as if he was numb to the world.
Braedon started to fall back and for the third time that week, he passed out.
Glode looked at Braedon with sadness in his heart and looked at the data sheet that appeared before him.
Braedon
Level 1: Phoenix embryo
Race: human
Lifespan: 150 years
Weapons and skills: none
Potential: average
Glode looked at the sheet and faced his new master. He didn't tell him about the plan he conceived and he didn't help himself prepare mentally or physically. It was worth it, since he survived in the end.
There were cultivators all over the world, but they took several years to break through their mortality and start upon their path.
Braedon at most only had a day or two to live, so Glode took drastic measure and injected some of his strength into Braedon. Of course this was something he could do only once a year, and even then he could only use the same skill at half strength from hence forth.
Glode looked peacefully at Braedon's sleeping face and watched as his dried skin peeled off to reveal, flawlessly smooth and pale skin.
All of his cuts and bruises were healed and even his blood was restored at an astounding speed. Braedon's seemed less muscular than they originally were but in return he received even more tight and toned muscles that held an incredible amount of strength.
Every breath he took released a bit of the leftover impurities he had in his body. Glode felt extremely bad about tricking Braedon though. Although he was just a small orb, a deep sense of loyalty was instilled into his core. Since Braedon became his master, he was willing to do whatever he could to help him, although what he could do was limited.
Glode looked at the potential and read the "average" a few times. He pondered by himself before saying something quietly, "That will change, I will make sure of it."
Braedon woke up a few hours later, with an intense headache.
"Did I survive?"
Glode floated nearby and spun around him, "Yes, you made it!"
As soon as Glode appeared in front of Braedon, he questioned him, "What happened?"
Glode started to slowly stop spinning and float over to Braedon, like a child who knows they did something bad but they have to report to their parents.
Glode explained the situation, from how long he had till 'boom town' to his master plan. Apparently there was a chance for Braedon to visit 'TNT World' when he absorbed a bit of Glode's strength, but Glode believed that it was safer than trying to get him to the first stage of cultivation in two days.
"I was afraid that you would be too nervous to go through with the plan so I didn't tell you about it... I-I'm sorry." Glode apologizes and rolled over to him, which would probably been cute if he was a dog or cat.
At first Braedon was shocked to realize how close he was to death, but then after Glode apologize he actually was a little angry. But before he made an outburst, he calmed himself down and thought the situation through.
There were no other alternatives and he technically did survive the ordeal.
And to be honest, Braedon would've been too distracted about the whole exploding thought and that could've negatively affected his results.
Plus from the novels he read, he figured that becoming a level 1 cultivator from a mortal in two days was almost impossible. That and nothing in the world was free. If he wanted to quickly gain power, he needed to be ready to take some risks.
There was also nothing he could've done better. Braedon, shocking, was calmly thinking about all of this despite being so close to death.
This was because Phoenix Might came with the passive bonus of giving him a more calm and collected mind and heart compared to others. Of course, he didn't know about this until later on.
It was a nice feeling and Braedon didn't mind it too much.
Braedon looked at Glode, who was rolling near his feet, and sighed. "I don't blame you for what you did, but you should have a little more faith in me. After all I am now your master and I don't want to be the useless kind."
"Is it possible for me to go through that again and keep breaking through level?" If Braedon only had to go through that same amount of pain again to level up, it would've been worth it. He survived once and he just need to mentally prepare himself to face it again.
Glode spun around midair, "No, that was enough power only for a mortal to reach the first step and they wouldjust be at the very first step as well, from there you need to properly study some cultivation techniques to grow stronger."
"It will take a year before I could do that again and by then if you're still at level 1, it will at most just fill up ten percent of your maximum strength."
"So your saying that that skill of yours is super effective on normal people, but for official cultivators it's just a small recharge?" Braedon understood the gist of it but asked to make sure. Glode said that he was correct and Braedon just nodded.
After saying that and getting Glode to calm down, Braedon's eyes started to sparkle as he walked alongside Glode. "So tell me what do I get now that I've become a cultivator? Can I fly? Or maybe I'm faster than a car. Or maybe I have some super awesome technique!"
Braedon rattled on excitedly about the possibilities until Glode rained over his parade, "None of that is currently possible master."
This significantly lowered Braedon's enthusiasm but he held onto hope with a few keywords, "Currently? Then all of those things are possible?"
Glode nodded and Braedon rubbed his chin for a second, "Hey Glode. While we walk home, how about you explain to me some things about cultivation and your past. I'm actually curious on who you are and where you came from, so let's find out together. Okay?"
Glode shined even more brightly as he flew around all over the place, "Absolutely master! I'm super curious about my past too, and I promise to explain to you about cultivation to the best of my abilities."
Braedon smiled at this as he thought to himself, "I feel like we are going to be great partners."
"Wake up."Braedon slept peacefully throughout the night. He felt extremely comfortable, after the tiresome day, to just lay there and rest."Wake up!"He turned over in his bed. He felt as if he could hear a strange, sort of robotic, voice talking in his ears."WAKE UP!"Braedon shot up, wide awake. He was sure of it this time, something was speaking to him. He sat upright in his bed looking around for the person who was speaking."You won't be able to find me that easily." Braedon quickly jumped out of his bed and placed himself against the wall."Where and who are you!" The voice simply answered, "I don't know." At first it sounded like it was speaking to his left ear, but suddenly it changed to the right."How did you...?" Braedon said but before he finished something appeared before him.He panicked, fell down, and smacked his head against the wall. "I swear if you pass out one more time..." the voice said in a cheerful yet disapproving manner."Huh? How did you..." once more he was cut off by the voice, no, after Braedon quickly collected himself. He looked forward and saw an orb in front of him. A floating without strings orb."Memories are easy to read, especially when you're asleep." The orb said with a voice that sounded like a computer A.I. But with much more personality."Who are you again?" Braedon felt like he was in a dream, as the orb flew around his head and landed on his bed."My name is... I don't have one, and I don't have many of my memories either. I believe you call this type of thing, amnesia."As the orb rolled over to Braedon, it started to glow a bit, "The first thing I remembered was falling to this planet in a meteorite long ago. From there, I have been able to remember a few things, but none of it was really useful to me. Or told me what I am exactly. I did get bits and pieces though"Braedon sat there and decided to calmly speak with the orb. Surprisingly, the orb was very chatty and despite always interrupting Braedon mid sentence, it was quite polite.It was early morning, and Braedon listened to the story of the orb for some time. He was sure at first that this was a prank by one of his friends, but dismissed that idea once the orb allowed him to touch it and see no string, speakers, or battery holder were on it.After talking for awhile, Braedon decided to ask it a question on his mind."So, you don't remember your name?" Braedon was getting tired of calling it just 'orb'. The orb stopped flying for a second and spun in midair. This was its way of shaking its head,"Correction, I don't have a name, My consciousness and memories were sealed away for a long time, only to be awakened once I find a master. My body would scan the terrain, watch for outsiders, and await for someone to become my owner.""Now that I have awakened, only a small part of my memories were unlocked but I don't know how to get the rest." The orb sadly said.It stopped spinning and faced him, well Braedon assumed it was facing him since it didn't have a face. "Then you came along! After you made contact with me, I decided to make you my master since you were the first living person I had met in years.""Then can I give you a name?" Braedon said while rubbing the back of his head where he bumped it. The orb 'nodded' and danced around happily, "Of course!""How about...Glode?"""Glode? What does that mean?" The name was something the orb had never heard of before. Braedon smiled while giving his answer."It's globe with a 'D' instead of 'B'."Glode just looked on stupefied as if he had heard the silliest thing in the world.After a few second Braedon realized what Glode just said "Wait, so you're saying that since I was the first living person to make contact with you, I became your master? Aren't you choosing a master too easily?"Glode once more spun, "No, it takes a lot of luck and hard work to become my master...and I was getting bored."Braedon slapped his forehead in exasperation. Glode flew around his head and landed on his shoulder like an excited bird. "So, what's the point of being your master, do I have to do anything now?"At this point, Braedon wasn't that surprised about everything Glode had said. The more he thought of it, the more he understood that there were mysteries that couldn't be explained in the world."You don't need to do much, just make a few preparations before you explode.""WAIT WHAT!" Braedon ran up and grabbed Glode, "What do you mean explode?" Glode quickly said, "Well, to become my master, I had to merge with your body. Due to the great amount of power I release passively, your body can't handle it and will eventually explode."Braedon's eye started to twitch as he looked at his own reflection on Glode "But I didn't even want to be your master." He thought this to himself while trying to crush Glode."Master...master that kind of hurts." Braedon brought Glode close to his face and said, "Is there anyway to NOT blow up?" Glode quickly nodded and Braedon slowly released him, "How?""Practicing Phoenix Might!"Braedon looked at Glode bewildered, "Phoenix Might?"Glode nodded and said, "From the memories I read, your world has a similar concept called cultivating."At this Braedon ears perked up and he listened with interest, "You mean like in the novels and movies!?" When Braedon was young, he loved reading about the scholarly heroes who could fly around and defeat villains. He didn't even question how impossible the idea sounded considering what Glode was.He always loved to imagin what it was like to be them and he even pretended to be like them for some time. Of course this was dark history that he usually didn't speak about.Glode nodded to itself and tried to explain, "The concept is correct, basically I was able to collect some data that allowed me to create a way for you to...cultivate. If you can follow through then, theoretically you should not go Kaboom!""Wait what do you mean theoret-" before Braedon finished, Glode once again rushed in and interrupted him, "We have no time to lose, let's go!" Braedon quickly got himself ready as he followed Glode all the way back to the abandoned area.He noticed that prettty much everyone around them was not looking at the floating orb flying next to him. When he questioned Glode about this, he simply answered that only a select amount of people can see him. To everyone else he doesn't exist.Braedon realized that his future reputation might become, "The guy who talks to himself" and made a mental reminder to watch if anyone listening when he spoke to Glode.Once they reached the area, Glode turned to Braedon, "Now we just need to merge." Braedon confusedly said, "Merge?" All of a sudden Glode rammed straight into his chest and dug in. It didn't hurt, oddly enough, so Braedon kept quiet. He noticed that rather than Glode actually entering his chest, it was more like he was becoming pure energy that entered into Braedon's body.Braedon felt like parched land that was suddenly given water. His body quickly absorbed the energy being given off and he felt invigorated. "What is this feeling?" Glode quickly answered his question in his head, "The aura of Phoenix Might, with this the impurities of your body will be extracted and removed. Master, prepare yourself, be careful...and I'm sorry."Braedon didn't understand what he meant until a few seconds later when he started to hack and cough. He could barely breathe and he felt like his lungs were about to collapse. Braedon started vomiting out a liquid, black substance that quickly evaporated into the air.He felt intense pain, as if his gut had been stabbed with a red, hot knife. His skin started to turn red as instead of the black substance, he started to spit out blood instead. "What ~*cough*~ is ~*retch*~ happening." Glode stayed silent and didn't answer him. Braedon started to claw at the ground as his skin became incredibly dry and started to crack.Several dozen small wounds started to open as tears streamed down his face. Blood was dripping everywhere and Braedon's vision was slowly going dark. "Is this how I die?" Braedon had a terrifying thought. He clenched his teeth in anger at the thought and he started to stand.He had an incredible urge to scratch himself, but he held back. He could taste iron due to the blood he was vomiting. A small black and red pool was forming below him as he kneeled down and smashed his head to the ground. He ground his teeth together and then he heard a voice, "Hold on master! I know it hurts but please hold on a little longer!"Braedon understood that it was Glode and he didn't know if it was because of Glode's tearful voice or his stubbornness, but he accepted Glode's advice and kept resisting the pain. He started to scream at the top of his lungs.The black substance and blood underneath him mixed together and small spirals of the strange liquid rose up from the pool. They started to harden and form sharp knives at their ends, then each spiral pierced him but instead of hurting, the tentacles became bright light that actually felt a little comfortable.Unfortunately, this comfort only lasted for a second before the pain resumed.Blood was pouring out of his seven orifices. His heart was beating at a rapid pace and just before he felt like his chest would burst. The pain lessened and finally stopped.Braedon sat there bloodied and bruised all over, he felt as if he just fought an intense battle. His arms were trembling and he couldn't see. No sounds entered his ears and he could barely feel anything. It was as if he was numb to the world.Braedon started to fall back and for the third time that week, he passed out.Glode looked at Braedon with sadness in his heart and looked at the data sheet that appeared before him.BraedonLevel 1: Phoenix embryoRace: humanLifespan: 150 yearsWeapons and skills: nonePotential: averageGlode looked at the sheet and faced his new master. He didn't tell him about the plan he conceived and he didn't help himself prepare mentally or physically. It was worth it, since he survived in the end.There were cultivators all over the world, but they took several years to break through their mortality and start upon their path.Braedon at most only had a day or two to live, so Glode took drastic measure and injected some of his strength into Braedon. Of course this was something he could do only once a year, and even then he could only use the same skill at half strength from hence forth.Glode looked peacefully at Braedon's sleeping face and watched as his dried skin peeled off to reveal, flawlessly smooth and pale skin.All of his cuts and bruises were healed and even his blood was restored at an astounding speed. Braedon's seemed less muscular than they originally were but in return he received even more tight and toned muscles that held an incredible amount of strength.Every breath he took released a bit of the leftover impurities he had in his body. Glode felt extremely bad about tricking Braedon though. Although he was just a small orb, a deep sense of loyalty was instilled into his core. Since Braedon became his master, he was willing to do whatever he could to help him, although what he could do was limited.Glode looked at the potential and read the "average" a few times. He pondered by himself before saying something quietly, "That will change, I will make sure of it."Braedon woke up a few hours later, with an intense headache."Did I survive?"Glode floated nearby and spun around him, "Yes, you made it!"As soon as Glode appeared in front of Braedon, he questioned him, "What happened?"Glode started to slowly stop spinning and float over to Braedon, like a child who knows they did something bad but they have to report to their parents.Glode explained the situation, from how long he had till 'boom town' to his master plan. Apparently there was a chance for Braedon to visit 'TNT World' when he absorbed a bit of Glode's strength, but Glode believed that it was safer than trying to get him to the first stage of cultivation in two days."I was afraid that you would be too nervous to go through with the plan so I didn't tell you about it... I-I'm sorry." Glode apologizes and rolled over to him, which would probably been cute if he was a dog or cat.At first Braedon was shocked to realize how close he was to death, but then after Glode apologize he actually was a little angry. But before he made an outburst, he calmed himself down and thought the situation through.There were no other alternatives and he technically did survive the ordeal.And to be honest, Braedon would've been too distracted about the whole exploding thought and that could've negatively affected his results.Plus from the novels he read, he figured that becoming a level 1 cultivator from a mortal in two days was almost impossible. That and nothing in the world was free. If he wanted to quickly gain power, he needed to be ready to take some risks.There was also nothing he could've done better. Braedon, shocking, was calmly thinking about all of this despite being so close to death.This was because Phoenix Might came with the passive bonus of giving him a more calm and collected mind and heart compared to others. Of course, he didn't know about this until later on.It was a nice feeling and Braedon didn't mind it too much.Braedon looked at Glode, who was rolling near his feet, and sighed. "I don't blame you for what you did, but you should have a little more faith in me. After all I am now your master and I don't want to be the useless kind.""Is it possible for me to go through that again and keep breaking through level?" If Braedon only had to go through that same amount of pain again to level up, it would've been worth it. He survived once and he just need to mentally prepare himself to face it again.Glode spun around midair, "No, that was enough power only for a mortal to reach the first step and they wouldjust be at the very first step as well, from there you need to properly study some cultivation techniques to grow stronger.""It will take a year before I could do that again and by then if you're still at level 1, it will at most just fill up ten percent of your maximum strength.""So your saying that that skill of yours is super effective on normal people, but for official cultivators it's just a small recharge?" Braedon understood the gist of it but asked to make sure. Glode said that he was correct and Braedon just nodded.After saying that and getting Glode to calm down, Braedon's eyes started to sparkle as he walked alongside Glode. "So tell me what do I get now that I've become a cultivator? Can I fly? Or maybe I'm faster than a car. Or maybe I have some super awesome technique!"Braedon rattled on excitedly about the possibilities until Glode rained over his parade, "None of that is currently possible master."This significantly lowered Braedon's enthusiasm but he held onto hope with a few keywords, "Currently? Then all of those things are possible?"Glode nodded and Braedon rubbed his chin for a second, "Hey Glode. While we walk home, how about you explain to me some things about cultivation and your past. I'm actually curious on who you are and where you came from, so let's find out together. Okay?"Glode shined even more brightly as he flew around all over the place, "Absolutely master! I'm super curious about my past too, and I promise to explain to you about cultivation to the best of my abilities."Braedon smiled at this as he thought to himself, "I feel like we are going to be great partners."
