Chapter 49: Skyward

A girl with a short, wolf-cut hairstyle approached Celeste with relief and excitement.

"Celeste!"

"Sierra!" Celeste called back.

The two girls jogged towards each other and met in a tight hug.

Sierra was the girl who helped Celeste stand up from the very first day of the License Exam. They’d become fast friends since then, it seemed.

"Oh my god, where were you?" Sierra asked. "When we were dropped, I couldn’t find you."

Behind Sierra, a mixed group of six people walked up and greeted Celeste with familiarity. Their so-called ’study group’. Their friendships were forged while practicing their Primal Strikes in the gymnasium.

"I don’t know," Celeste said. "It was too dark."

Sierra flashed an expression of pity for Celeste. Then, she noticed Eren. "Oh, you’re..."

"Eren." He introduced himself.

"We fell in the same pit together," Celeste explained.

"Ohh," Sierra said, before introducing herself to Eren. "My name is Sierra. These guys are Paul, Bernadette, Tori, Abe, Sky, and Henry."

The entire group introduced themselves to Eren. He was amiable as he met them. Flashing smiles and talking friendly banter.

Celeste looked at him askance, eyebrows uneven. She leaned closer to him and whispered. "So you can be sociable..."

Sierra’s gaze alternated between him and Celeste. "Do you want to join us, Eren?" she asked. "There’s better odds in bigger numbers."

Eren agreed. This was exactly what he needed. A group. A collection of faces for him to blend in.

It was also the best way to gather information. By the looks of it, they’d been here a while.

"Oh, do you guys have any sunspores? Ah, actually, nevermind. Take a seat near the campfire. I’ll get you something warm to eat. It’s really cold out there."

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Eren looked around and observed everything.

There were small huts and hovels placed around the cavern. Extending only where the campfire’s light could reach them. Most were made out of leaves and sticks and anchored by stones.

It wasn’t anything complicated. Just a place for examinees to sit, relax, and recover.

Those that slept inside these hovels had crusted blood in their suit’s fabric, their injuries tied tightly by torn pieces of cloth.

He started to understand the situation.

Examinees had created for themselves a new, functioning society.

It was similar to how the first civilization on Earth was formed from a bustling river that provided humans security and prosperity.

Except here, it was formed from the large campfire that gave them respite from the darkness of the Subterranean Burrows.

"How is there a campfire here?" Eren asked Sierra.

"We don’t know. It’s been here since the beginning," she replied.

Meaning, it was a permanent feature of the License Exam. An intended resting place for the examinees.

It made sense. Genesis Phase cultivators were not known for their stamina. Examinees would inevitably get exhausted as they traversed through the winding tunnels of the Subterranean Burrows.

And with pitfalls and traps, examinees would need Ræzoň to protect themselves.

Eren only used the Primal Strike, which was already very efficient and expended only a few Ræzoň drops, but he was already feeling the strain. What more for others who used Martial Manuals with increased consumption of Ræzoň?

Examinees would eventually have to meditate on their Ascension Arts and recover the Ræzoň they lost. Hence, the need for a place where they could rest.

"Here’s your soup."

Abe, the dark-skinned burly man, gave Eren and Celeste each a bowl made out of stone, containing a simple vegetable and mushroom soup.

Its smoke wafted up, warming Eren’s face.

They weren’t the only ones with this hearty meal. Other examinees sat in their own logs around the campfire, eating and socializing.

Celeste asked the question in his mind. "How did you guys cook this?"

"We didn’t. We bought it."

Eren and Celeste looked up at her in surprise.

Sierra pointed at a cliffside jutting sharply from the left wall of the cavern. Towards the large alcove at its very base.

Inside it, there were fired-up cauldrons spewing out grey smoke, its liquid seething and bubbling near the top. A few examinees monitored this primitive kitchen, mixing the stew and adding some much needed herbs.

"Some people could cook, some people could carve utensils from stone, some gathered herbs and vegetables and edible mushrooms along the tunnels. People just found a way to profit off it, while helping others.

Usually, you have to pay five sunspores to buy a bowl of stew. But don’t worry. We have enough to spare."

It seemed that sunspores had become the new currency here in the Subterranean Burrows.

The campfire’s light only extended to this cavern. Beyond it, complete and utter darkness. If examinees wanted to find the Concrete Blocks, they’d have to venture back into the shadows.

And the only way to navigate through them was with the use of sunspores, making them highly demanding.

"You have to pay five sunspores for this soup?" Celeste asked.

"It’s made with an ingredient called the Skyward Herb. It’s a lot rarer here in the tunnels, so its price is a lot higher than normal ingredients," Sierra argued. "But it’s worth it. The soup will help you recover more Psions. Then, you’ll have more energy to venture through the tunnels where you can find more sunspores."

Skyward Herb...

Eren stared at the star-shaped yellow leaves drifting in his soup.

Sierra was correct. The Skyward Herb was a plant that greatly enhanced a cultivator’s rate of Ræzoň recovery. It was greatly sought-after, even in Immoræ.

Usually, an average dantian would require an entire day’s worth of meditation to replenish Ræzoň reserves from a completely empty state. But consuming the Skyward Herb would hasten that by about ten times.

Eren tasted the soup.

The effect was immediate. Like mint for his meridians, it was cool and refreshing with the added effect of increasing his intake of Ræzoň. In about two and a half hours of meditation, he would completely replenish the pool of Ræzoň in his Dantian.

Seeing him eat, Celeste had a taste of her soup as well. Her cheeks blushed with a tint of red as she savored its invigorating effect. She couldn’t get enough of it.

Eren, on the other hand, stopped eating and stared blankly at the billowing fire in front of him. His presence, no longer anchored in reality as he visited his Mind Palace.

After all, he remembered that there were a few useful concoctions made out of Skyward Herbs...