Chapter 13
"Of course I do," Alden said. "Just like everybody else, I want to become a cultivator too."
It was a tame way to say it. Alden wanted nothing more than to become a cultivator. Who wouldn't want to ride on flying swords, soar above the sky, and have the power to travel across the world?
But he had to stay calm, even if he wanted nothing more than to just force the information about Qi cultivation out of the girl.
Renna nodded. She turned slightly, looking at the window where pale light filtered through wooden slats.
"Cultivation isn't for everyone," she started. "It requires talent, will, and... something else. Most people never make it past the first threshold. They live and die without even glimpsing what we call Core."
Alden tilted his head slightly. "Threshold?"
"There are several. Physical, mental, spiritual. You can get through all of them if you're hardworking enough. And have access to the right resources, of course."
"But the real challenge comes during Core formation. That's what separates aspirants from true cultivators. Without a core, you're just another mortal with fancy techniques."
Alden listened attentively. He didn't get all of it, but he understood the general direction.
Renna continued. "From what I saw, the fact that your body have access to Qi means that you have the potential to become a Cultivator."
"I have access to Qi?" Alden arched up a curious eyebrow, his expression reflecting his doubts.
"You do," she confirmed. "You even used it back when we first fought inside the arena. And once more yesterday, when you were running away from that wraith."
Seeing the still unconvinced look on Alden's face, she explained. "Normally, given your state at that time, you shouldn't have been able to run. Especially not in the presence of a wraith. But something preserved you. Stabilized you." Her gaze turned intense, as if searching for something withing him.
"As you are right now, you can technically be considered as an Aspirant. Though untrained, as long as you have access to Qi, you already stand apart from the ordinary man." She explained.
"As for me, I'm also an Aspirant. But… I've failed to condense my core five times now."
The look in Alden's eyes shifted. "Is creating a core that hard?"
Renna hesitated a second before nodding. "It is. For some people, it's practically impossible… And I suspect that I may actually be one of those people."
She let out a long sigh filled with emotions before continuing.
"This is actually why I approached you. You see, each attempt to break through into the ranks of cultivators cost resources, energy, and patience. And for a time, my family gave me all of that. But after my repeated failures..."
She didn't say what came after. But it didn't take a genius to figure out the rest.
"Anyway, this is the reason why I've helped you, Alden. I don't know what's inside you. But I saw enough to bet on your potential. I saved your life. Cleared your debt. And now I need you to help me in return."
"Help me find a way forward. A method. A source. Anything that lets us become cultivators."
Alden didn't answer at first. He looked at the tense determination in Renna's eyes, and felt a strange sense of déjà vu. That look, this situation, it seemed a little familiar.
It reminded him a lot of the Scourge.
The man had also proposed a similar deal to Alden: to open the path towards cultivation in exchange of a favor.
Alden sat there, absorbing the weight of it all. He felt slightly apprehensive. In a sense, he had more leverage than he realized.
He had underestimated the importance of someone having the potential to become a cultivator. Without even doing anything, it had already freed him from the Vein. Earned trust. And put him in rooms with people who would've never looked his way a month ago.
It opened his eyes to what kind of existence a cultivator was. And he wondered what it would be like when he truly became one, what kind of life it might lead to.
I hope it's nice, he thought.
Because Silver's life had been anything but kind. A slow, cruel spiral with nothing waiting at the end but exhaustion and blood.
"I'm down for it." Alden finally said. Despite his doubts, he couldn't pass the opportunity to learn more. "But I think we should draft some kind of contract or something like that."
Renna smiled, and nodded in agreement.
She had expected that answer. She had been watching Alden for a while now. She had seen him fight, stumble, and survive. She had a rough idea about the kind of person she was dealing with. Which was why she was willing to take a bet on him.
As for whether she made the right call or not, only time would tell.
"I'm glad you're on board," she said. "As for the contract, I'm going to go and prepare it. I'll leave you to rest for now. I'll be back in the afternoon, and then we can start discussing about what needs to be done."
After Renna left, the room settled into silence once more. And a little while later, a middle-aged man delivered a tray of food to Alden.
He devoured the meal. After starving for so long, his body needed the calories. He finished everything and sat for a long while afterward, hand resting lightly against his side, feeling satisfied.
He leaned back against the pillow, exhaling slowly. His body still ached, but he was used to pain now. He slowly rolled his shoulder and flexed his fingers, feeling the stiffness leave his limbs bit by bit.
Then he closed his eyes.
With practiced focus, Alden shifted his attention inward.
The pain faded. The room dimmed. And in just a few moments, he was back into the fog place again.
************************
By the time the afternoon light slanted through the window, Renna had returned. She set a small stack of books down at the foot of his bed.
"I've once seen you visit a book store, so I've brought some materials to read. To pass the time while you heal from your injuries." The dark-haired girl said. "General knowledge. The basics of energy flow, meditation theory, early cultivator case studies. Nothing too dense."
Alden eyes the small stack with interest, then looked at her a raised eyebrow. "You've seen me?"
Renna nodded. "I followed you."
Alden chuckled at how casual she sounded. Then he started going through the stack, paused at the third book. "Meditation?"
"To become a cultivator, you'll need more than talent and willpower. The first and most important step is learning how to meditate." Renna explained.
"Not the shallow kind they teach in street-tier training or temples." Her voice shifted into something closer to instruction. "Qi meditation is about alignment. You have to empty yourself completely until you begin to feel beyond your basic five senses."
She paused, then added, "Only through meditation can you start drawing in Qi and attempting to form your core."
Alden looked at Renna and blinked cluelessly.
"I don't really get it… but you're gonna teach me, right?"
To that, she shook her head. "I can't teach you the method I use," she admitted, her tone turning clipped. "It belongs to my family. Even if I wanted to, I'm bound not to share it."
"But," she added, straightening with a glint in her eye, "I can explain the general concept to you. And I also know someone who can teach you a real meditation technique."
"And that is?" Alden replied.
"The Scourge."
Alden frowned. "Him?"
Renna nodded. "You know him, right?"
"We've talked once," Alden admitted. "Made a deal, actually. He told me if I reached Rank five in the arena, he'd consider teaching me something. I think he was testing me."
Renna smiled.
"That's perfect," she said. "If he's already watching you, that saves us a step."
Alden leaned back against the headboard, eyes narrowed in thought. "So that's the plan? Find him. Get him to teach me a meditation technique. And once I do, I start walking the path."
Renna gave a short nod. "That's the general idea. Don't worry too much about it. If things don't work out with him, I'll find another way."
She moved to Alden's side and handed him a parchment.
"But that doesn't mean you're allowed to slack off. I want you to try your best to reach Rank five." She said. "The sooner you can ask the Scourge for that meditation technique. And the sooner we both can move forward."
She looked him over, eyes lingering on the bandages and bruises.
"How long until you're back on your feet?"
Alden hesitated.
He could lie.
Say a week. Maybe more. Play it safe.
But considering everything that she had done until now, including saving his life, he thought better of it. If their partnership was going to work, he had to meet her halfway.
Plus, if she had been stalking him, she probably already knew.
"Two days." He finally said. "At most three."
A flicker of surprise flashed in Renna's eyes, her attention shifted to his bandaged chest, then back to his face. "That fast?"
"I heal quick."
She stared at him for a beat longer, then nodded, not inquiring further. "That kind of recovery... it's impressive. It'll serve us well."
She took a step back, more relaxed now, like something had quietly settled between them. Alden took the time to go over the content of the contract she handed to him. After a casual read, he found nothing wrong with it.
"Take your time. We can sign it later. For now, you recover. I'll make some arrangements. When you're ready, we move."
Alden nodded. "Sounds good."
As the conversation wound down, Renna placed a small pouch of coin on the bedside table.
"Until you're back on your feet," she said. "I'll handle your charges, food, lodgings, and whatever else you need."
Alden opened his mouth to argue, but she raised a hand.
"It's not charity. It's investment."
He blinked, then gave a quiet nod. "You really don't do things halfway."
Renna smiled. "I'm a very thorough person."
*******************************
Time rapidly flowed. And in the blink of an eye, two days passed.
True to his word, Alden had recovered. His pain dulled, the bruises faded, and the fractured rib that should have taken weeks to mend felt whole again.
By the end of the second day, he could walk without flinching and breathe without hitching. His strength returned with a steady rhythm, proof of that strange resilience that had carried him this far.
On the dawn of the third day, Renna showed up.
She knocked once on his door, then let herself in. In one hand, she carried a folded set of clothes. In the other, a small bag.
Alden sat up from the cot, still feeling a little sleepy. "Well hello. You're quite the morning person."
She raised a brow. "And I guess you're not."
Alden stood slowly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I used to be… but I think this luxurious bed had softened me up."
Renna did not comment on that. She held up the clothes to him, and put the bag on his bedside. "I've bought you some food, and some new clothes."
Alden looked at the outfit: plain dark trousers, a fitted tunic, a jacket just formal enough to not look like arena-wear. Simple. Clean. Nothing flashy.
"Nice." He said with an appreciative smile. The new clothes he bought were still stuck at the Mercy Inn. He just hoped the owner hadn't written him off as dead and thrown his stuff out.
As he got dressed, Renna turned around and started explaining their plans for the day. "You're coming with me to the Thornevale estate."
"Thornevale estate?" He echoed.
"Yes. I want to evaluate you properly. Somewhere quieter. Somewhere you won't have to worry about knives in the back." She started. "That's also where we're going to train from now one."
Alden hummed in thoughts. That explained the new clothes. He couldn't exactly show up in the richer part of the city in his usual getup. Even with Renna accompanying him, that was just asking for unnecessary trouble.
"That works for me."
After a swift breakfast, the pair walked through the city as it shook off the morning chill.
The streets near the inn were already buzzing with merchants shouting about new shipments, beggars stirring in corners, and the occasional shout from someone already deep in a losing dice game.
But that all changed the farther they walked.
Stone roads gave way to smoother, well-kept paths. The noise dulled. The buildings grew taller, cleaner, more symmetrical. Guards wore matching gear. The air even smelled different, more polished wood and perfume.
Alden didn't say much, but he absorbed everything.
They reached a large arched gate set into high, pale walls. The Thornevale crest, sharp silver feathers over a dark shield, was carved into the stone above.
Two guards stood at attention, neither speaking as Renna approached.
She stopped a few feet short of the gate and glanced back at Alden.
"Try not to glare at anyone. And if someone tries to talk down to you, just let me handle it."
Alden chuckled. "That happen often?"
She gave a small, humorless smile. "It's a hobby for some of them."
Then she stepped forward. The guards moved aside without a word.
Alden followed her in.