Chapter 33: Ready Player One

Spiritual energy is a metaphysical force that connects all of existence. Everything possessed some amount of it. It flowed through humans, animals, insects, plants, Wraths and even stranger beings.

Unlike physical strength, spiritual energy did not grow just because someone trained harder than everyone else. Since it was linked to the soul, it matured alongside an individual’s understanding of themselves.

The clearer one’s understanding of themselves became, the stronger that current of energy flowed through their body, nourishing the Patron Spirit residing within them.

Patron Spirits were the reflection of one’s spiritual nature. Within the Elderwood Biome, there were three recognized categories.

The first and by far the most common was the Beast-type.

They originated from animals, insects, plants and the like. They embodied instinct, adaptation, survival and the law of nature. People whose names begin with a beast name were those who fell under this category.

Notable examples are Mountain Gorilla Taru, Leopard Cat Nimra, Black Crow Koa and Red Deer Rhos.

The second category was the Descendant-type.

They are inheritances left behind by extraordinary humans whose names echoed through the history of the old world. These included great kings, legendary conquerors, heroes, tyrants, scholars, saints, even murderous villains. Anyone whose story had scarred civilization deeply enough could continue existing through their descendants.

Rhos wasn’t familiar with anyone who fell under this category.... Actually, only one figure came to mind. It was someone of high rank, the Regent of the Elderwood Biome.

Arthur Elaine.

Her Patron Spirit has been said to descend from one of the greatest kings the old world had ever recorded. Rhos had never met her personally, nor had he ever had the luck of catching a glimpse of her.

But from those who knew her, they described her as someone stern, competent and quite reliable.

The third category was the Deity-type.

This category was the rarest among the three. They were composed of gods, demons, celestial beings, archangels, existences that transcended ordinary understanding.

As far as Rhos knew, Elderwood only possessed two Deity-types. The first one was the famous idol, Nova Hestia.

He knew almost nothing about her besides the endless advertisements plastered across the city and the fact dozens of men practically worshipped her.

To be honest, he didn’t really care about celebrities.

The second Deity-type was someone nobody actually knew. It was said to be the Grand Keeper, but the rumors were not matching up, they kept changing.

It didn’t help that the Grand Keeper was so mysterious nobody knew their name, their appearance or whether they were a man or woman.

A few believed Elderwood didn’t have one at all and the government simply invented the existence of an Omega Class being to discourage rebellion.

Rhos wasn’t sure whether he believed that or not, but none of that mattered right now. The point was, every human possessed a Patron Spirit and very few ever pushed theirs to evolve.

That was the true difference between the ordinary and the exceptional.

Every Patron Spirit advanced through four evolutionary stages; initial, middle, upper and peak. However, they were named differently in each category and had different changes.

For Beast-types the initial stage was Beast, the middle stage was Greater Beast, the upper stage was Ancient Beast and finally the peak stage was Mythical Beast, a realm so distant that even speaking about it sounded ridiculous.

Greater Beast itself was difficult to reach, he wasn’t foolish enough to think reaching the peak would be easy.

But he was willing to put in the work if it was possible. Even for someone unremarkable as him. He intended to force his red deer Patron Spirit there.

It’s been two months since he woke inside Koa’s apartment and he hadn’t stepped a foot outside in all that time. Not because he couldn’t, but simply because the timing wasn’t right. Rather, he did not have a good enough reason to do so yet.

By now, The Ranger Corps has undoubtedly declared Division 14 destroyed and investigations were probably underway. That didn’t concern him right now. Mostly because Neth hadn’t allowed him the luxury of wasting time.

[Human. You currently possess the physical durability of damp paper struggling to contain a collapsing star]

[Kindly refrain from dying before my investment matures]

Little did Rhos know, those words would be the beginning of a nightmare.

Human refinement followed three paths; the body, spiritual energy and the soul. Ordinarily, they would be refined together. Unfortunately, Rhos was no longer ordinary.

His soul had merged with half the existence of a primordial being. Trying to refine something that enormous with his current physique would simply shatter his body.

So he was forbidden from refining either his soul or spiritual energy. His body came first and everything else came later.

Neth taught him how to train it. The exercises it provided sounded insultingly simple until he actually put them into practice..... It was hell.

His mornings began before sunrise. Hundreds upon hundreds of explosive squats and pushups performed without rest until he collapsed. Then came balancing exercises atop the narrow wooden railing outside Koa’s apartment while carrying buckets filled with water, forcing every muscle to remain perfectly still despite the trembling.

After that was the endless bursts of sprinting from one end of the apartment to the other while changing direction so violently his ankles constantly ached.

In the afternoons, he was forced into almost impossible isometric holds that lasted until every muscle was violently cramped. Wall sits, one handed planks, deep crouches balanced on the tips of his toes.

During evenings, he was introduced to breathing methods unlike anything taught within the Academy. Inhaling synchronized precisely with contractions throughout his body and exhale relaxed only certain muscle groups while others remained tense.

The process forced microscopic damage into every fiber before allowing his natural recovery to rebuild them denser than before.

Being a Beast-type granted him a modest regenerative ability. But being Prey of such a low stage meant it was embarrassingly slow compared to Predators.

As such, he woke up sore every morning and unable to properly stand. But Neth still forced him to repeat everything again and again.

Although this felt like hell, the results of his suffering could not be denied.

Standing before the apartment mirror one morning during the beginning of the second month, Rhos could hardly recognize himself.

He was already in shape before starting these hellish exercises, but now his body had become more refined! It was lean, compact, solid muscles wrapped beneath his skin without becoming bulky.

He even felt the change even in the way he moved. When he ran through the apartment his feet barrely produced sound, his balance and senses had become sharper.

The greatest benefit to this was that the exercises no longer left him bedridden.

When he closed his hand, he could feel the explosive power contained within. It felt unreal he could reach such heights. He couldn’t believe he was getting used to this kind of lifestyle.

Halfway through the first week of the third month, that’s when things began to change. Neth suddenly perked up as its hollow eye brightened with unusual excitement.

[At last...]

It spun circles through the apartment so quickly it became a streak of golden light.

[Excellent!]

[Excellent!]

[Excellent!!!]

[Human! The preparations have concluded!]

Rhos lowered a towel he had been using to wipe sweat from his face, noticing the tiny creature’s strange behavior.

"What’s wrong with you?"

Neth stopped directly before his face.

[Your first Spirit has completed its awakening]

[You have waited sufficiently]

[Your body now satisfies the minimum requirements]

Its tiny wings vibrated so quickly they produced an audible humming sound and it spoke with a voice that carried genuine anticipation other than its usual condescending tone.

[It is time for the two of you to meet]