Chapter 7
While Tim let his body fall into a trance in the teacher's lounge doing breathing exercises, he focused more on Lia. He had been neglecting her and her duties. It was hard to use both bodies at once, and he still thought of Tim as his main body. Tim sighed in both bodies simultaneously. "I really can't pretend Lia doesn't exist anymore. This isn't a video game," he thought.
He used to love playing as female characters in RPGs, finding it entertaining to look at an attractive avatar. This was completely different. He stood up in Lia's body and walked around the room thinking. The gait was different; how she breathed was different. Everything felt foreign. Tim knew enough about psychology to know that if he tried to be one person with two completely different bodies, he would drift into madness. He had to treat this like managing a hive mind.
"I need to have two different personalities or personas. I need to be Lia and embody what she represents when using her body, and be Tim when I'm him," he decided.
Another deep sigh escaped from Lia's lips. "Okay, so what am I?" she said, looking in the mirror. From her social media profile, she was an ice queen—a person who was cold and driven. He still didn't have much access to Lia's deeper memories. Basic skills like riding a bike came naturally, including qi techniques and cultivation, but long-term memories remained locked away.
Lia sat down and thought seriously. "The way I feel in this body is different. Its hormones and, on a deep level, its desire to grow and feel safe are affecting my mental state. If I am truly Lia, what would I do now?"
Well, I still can't help but have some of my personality influence how I am as Lia. The original Lia died due to her arrogance. Life here isn't as safe as on Earth. I need to get the items I found in the ruins appraised. Lia's combat capabilities are what I need to understand and expand on most.
First, the staff, sword, and manuals she'd found needed to be appraised. Lia decided to walk around the sect to find the shop or pavilion that could help evaluate items.
Walking up to the mirror, Lia fixed her long black hair into a ponytail and appraised herself. "Lia, you are a confident Foundation Establishment cultivator. You've got this," she said, trying to build confidence while staring into those otherworldly purple eyes.
Tim felt an uncomfortable stirring in his earthly body when he stared at Lia's reflection too long. "This is so weird," he thought, quickly looking away.
Exiting her small room, she followed her instincts as she walked further up the mountain. Passing many rooms, some disciples waved at her. A cute girl came running up.
"Lia, where have you been? I've been worried to death!"
Lia tried to think of her name but couldn't. She felt a strong sense of friendship for this girl, though. Drawing on Tim's social skills, she pulled her into a hug.
"I'm so sorry. I almost died on my last mission and have been in my room healing and reflecting on my mistakes."
Lia stepped back and saw tears in the girl's eyes. "Why didn't you come see me? I messaged you so many times."
"I'm so sorry," Lia replied. "But everything wasn't for nothing. I managed to find something valuable. Let's go see what the appraisers say."
The small, cute teenage girl grabbed Lia's arm, looking at her expectantly. Lia struggled with the way women interacted but did her best to mimic what she'd observed from college students. She began recounting her story, watching horror and excitement play across the girl's face. Fortunately, she heard a guy walking past say, "Hi Lia, hi Ami," giving her the friend's name.
As they reached the upper levels, Ami looked cross with Lia.
"You can never be so reckless and take such risks again," Ami said with an angry expression. "I don't know what I would do without you."
Lia felt guilt and anger at the original Lia who had taken such foolish risks. "I promise I won't, Ami. Let's go see what I found."
Halfway up the mountain, a large area was flattened with countless small stores run by disciple cultivators selling their wares. Behind them were larger stores run by the sect itself. This allowed disciples to trade based on their specialties. Some disciples were warriors, while others were rune crafters who inscribed patterns to channel qi and give weapons long-term effects. There were also alchemists, smiths, and many other trades.
Tim looked around confused, not sure where to go. "Lia, you silly head," Ami said, dragging her to a specific store.
Once inside, an old man sat at the counter. It was one of the elders who was semi-retired. He had reached the pinnacle of his ability and now ran a store to serve the younger generation while pursuing his hobbies.
"Welcome, welcome, girls," Elder Yacob said. "Now what treasures do you have for me to evaluate? I'll tell you the price of evaluation when I see them."
Lia took a deep breath and hesitantly withdrew her sword, staff, and manuals, placing them before the man.
"Ahhh," he exclaimed, eyeing the staff particularly. "Quite the treasures you've come across."
He silently examined them and flicked through the manuals. "Ten spirit stones, and I can tell you their function, quality, and whether they're safe to use."
Ami gasped at the price for just an assessment, but Lia handed over ten stones, leaving her with thirty-three remaining.
Yacob picked up the sword first. "This is a flying sword of low Foundation Establishment grade. You can use it by injecting qi and should gain the ability to fly at decent speed. I'd value it at two hundred spirit stones."
Ami squealed. "Lia, Lia, you have to take me for a ride!" Most lower-level Foundation Establishment cultivators didn't have funds for such an item.
"But this is even better," Yacob said, picking up the staff with obvious envy. "This is a channeling staff of excellent quality. I'd rate it at entry Golden Core level, though fortunately it can still be used by Foundation Establishment cultivators. Whatever qi you feed into it, it condenses and draws additional qi from the surroundings, amplifying its effects. Any qi technique or attack channeled through this will increase by at least eighty percent. Better yet, you can use it to accelerate cultivation. Truly a rare treasure that I value at one thousand spirit stones."
His expression grew serious. "I warn you, though—keep this hidden. Use it to cultivate, but don't bring it out unless it's a life-or-death emergency, or it may cost you your life. Many have been killed for lesser treasures."
He gestured to the manuals. "Finally, these manuals I cannot decipher. You may need to find a greater expert than myself to read writing this ancient."
Lia took a deep breath. No wonder the original Lia had risked her life in the rift. Such treasures were truly worth the danger.
Lia looked at Ami, who immediately read her mind. "I will keep your secrets to my grave, sister," she said, holding out her pinky.
Lia was surprised—the pinky promise was apparently universal. For the first time, Tim made a pinky promise like he'd seen his college students do. Ami gave Lia a big hug.
"I have to go work on some pill refinement. I'll visit you later."
Lia strolled back down the mountain with a smile on her face. "A sword I can fly on is incredibly cool. Wait until I tell Varek about this. But first, I'm going to start cultivating with my new staff. I need to make sure I keep up with Varek and Riku."