Makun's mind snapped back to Zuri.
Zuri really did not tell him much.
With everything he learned today, he had a single conclusion. The mystic world was dangerous. Whenever you gained something, you were at risk of losing yourself.
Reconnection to the Source meant losing yourself. Advancing with ego meant losing yourself. Now even initiation had the ability to get you consumed.
Shit.
Fuck this shit.
He cursed under his breath. If it was difficult for everyone else, how was it going to be for him. It looked like this new life would be shittier than the normal life he had lived till now.
Anyways, he had to choose his routes.
But where did he get those potions. Did people sell it. Did he have to search for the resources himself to carry it out. Was there a route out there known as potion master.
Yet another question he had to ask.
He had already passed the quota of three questions a long time ago, but the veiled lady still answered. He was not sure why. He was not going to lose this opportunity.
"hmm ... Sorry," he said, then cleared his throat. "I need to know where I can get the potions." He asked shamelessly.
He expected her to refuse.
However, she stayed silent, looking at him.
The veiled lady stared at him with unblinking dark eyes. Her gaze moved over him like she was measuring something that did not have a visible scale. Medium brown skin. The tightness in his jaw. The sharpness in the way he held eye contact like a weapon. The dark long hair that made him look wilder than he was, like he had never had the luxury of peace or careful grooming.
She nodded to herself.
Makun paused.
Why was she scanning him now.
"Is something wrong," he asked, unable to hide the confusion.
"Nothing." She diverted her gaze slowly. Then she spoke like she was returning to a calculation. "The Resonant Recall was extremely valuable. The book and information I just gave you will not match the price of it."
She paused again.
Looked at him as if she was deciding something.
"The potion. The one you asked for, I am going to make one for you," she said. "Have you thought of a route yet."
Makun went still.
There it is again.
Luck. Is it luck? Or something wearing its face.
He did not believe it.
All of it felt fishy. Something was going on. Everything she told him, he accepted, but he did not treat it as full truth. The book never mentioned the cost of Ascension. It spoke of the Goal of the Mystic from one narrow point of view.
Like he had thought before, whoever wrote that book had an agenda. So he interrogated what he read.
And given the fact that the book came from her, his guard was already up.
Why had she been nice to him, even though he had already deduced she was selfish.
"You gain nothing from doing that," he said. "Why."
"Do you want it or not." It was not a question. It was an ultimatum. A yes or a no. "Given your present situation, you should take it. You are poor. You have nowhere to live. You cannot afford it. Formulas are not that cheap. And initiates cannot offer much."
Yup, forgot she read part of my memories
Makun's mind moved.
The memo~
"I suggest you don't offer that memory to people all the time," she added, calm, like she had been watching the thought form. "It might bring you trouble."
Makun did not answer. He had already decided not to share it.
He had no choice but to accept her offer.
"I accept."
"Good," the veiled lady said. "Now your routes. Choose between the seven great routes, from Scholar to Healer."
Makun watched her face. There was icy control in everything she did. Information came out clean. Emotion did not.
The only time he saw a crack was when she spoke of Reconnection and the Ego-Anchor. Other than that, she stayed empty.
The choice.
Makun already knew the two routes he wanted. He had been thinking about it since she explained aptitude. If he chose one of those two routes, then maybe his climb would not be blind.
Scholar Route.
Warrior Route.
Why Scholar. Because he had trained his brain to observe everything, take note of every little detail, analyse it, create patterns, and decide whether it would help him or ruin him. That was what life forced into him. Skepticism. Awareness. Planning for the worst so the worst did not surprise him.
He had reached a stage where he could sense when things were going to turn sour, then move before they did.
Life made him smart. He knew that.
Why Warrior. Because he was fit. Because he knew how to fight. Because since young he learned how to defend himself against threats. If he walked that path, he could comprehend the world through his body, not just through thought.
Now he had to choose between the two.
Be the smartest, or be the strongest.
"After observing me," he asked, "do you have advice."
She was an expert. As he was, he could not tell what route she walked. He could not tell what tier she was at, or even what grade she was at.
But the commotion she caused earlier, that breakthrough, was proof enough. The way the silver masked guard spoke to her at Old Town Plaza was proof enough.
"Advice," she repeated, voice smooth. "Mental fortitude. Sharp. Intelligent. That is what I got from you. If I was you, I would have walked the Scholar Route. Climbing the tiers will be easier."
Makun nodded.
He thought so too.
"I can see you are also fit," she added. "So the Warrior Route should not be out of question. Either one of those is ok."
"I thought so too," Makun said.
He wanted to walk both routes at once, but she warned him against that.
He had to choose one.
He knew which one.