Chapter 118: Sensebound Pearl.
The Next afternoon...
’This should be enough, it’s time to get the feisty princess out to stretch her wings.’
After spending two hours showing the world that he was capable of cultivating by absorbing the light through his skin, Levi decided to go out for some fresh air and to train in his usual peaceful spot.
He didn’t know if he was being watched in the training center or not, but it was better to show everyone that he was capable of manual cultivation. So, no one would be suspicious of his growth, considering that he lacked eyes. He was doing this for nearly the entire duration of his stay... consistent.
Soon, Levi left the dorm building and went to a nearby empty location. Then, he summoned the Vyra; her roar was loud enough that it shook the glass windows of the dorms.
Levi had decided on the name Vyra as it was the only one his feisty princess seemed to like. He had suggested multiple ones in the past week, but none were approved.
He had no clue why she liked Vyra so much, and to be honest, he wasn’t in the mood at that time to think about it.
"Who the hell summoned his Nightmount so close to the dorms! I am trying to cultivate here!"
"What a roar..."
"Tch... can’t even get a moment of peace."
Many Daywalkers opened their windows with annoyed looks, trying to find the source of the roar... But, they found nothing nearby, confusing them a bit.
A moment later, their eyes picked up on a giant leathery white flying beast from a distance. Before they could react, the beast had disappeared out of their vision in a second, leaving behind a mere dot.
"Am I tripping or was that a wyvern...?"
"White wyvern... Where have I seen one?"
Some perceptive Daywalkers managed to spot the wyvern’s shape and color, leaving them a bit puzzled. But soon, memories of what happened in the assembly flooded their minds.
"Don’t tell me... He tamed her so quickly?!"
"Bullsh*t! I am still struggling to tame a squirrel-like nightmount!"
This was the first time Levi summoned Vyra in the Training Center. He always went out before summoning her, knowing that her roar was way too loud and would disturb his dormmates.
But after spending more than a week here, he realized that his respect wasn’t reciprocated kindly... Many Daywalkers summoned their nightmounts right under his window, breaking his focus many times.
Instead of complaining to the administration, since this was against the rules, he just stopped caring at once like them.
...
Unbeknownst to the ruckus he caused, Levi was seen chilling on top of the Vyra as she swam across the clouds breezily.
"Vyra, do you have any idea about your origins?" Levi asked softly, wanting to pass the time.
With the truth about his universe exposed, Levi knew that life went beyond the borders of his planet and the Shadow dimension. His nightmount could very well have origins from another planet, also connected to the Shadow dimension.
After all, nightcrawlers dominated the Shadow dimension, but it didn’t mean that they couldn’t exist on planets with protection from solar light or the total lack of it.
Grrr...
Vyra gave him an irked look like she was unpleased by such a question... Levi furrowed his brow a bit, realizing that this question might have struck a nerve.
He understood that Tier 2 nightcrawlers’ intelligence was much higher than Tier 1 and could be considered to have the intelligence of a 9-year-old.
Thus, they also have preferences, desires, and some emotional maturity... Though their instincts were still dominant.
Just as Levi was about to change the subject, a sudden chaotic noise pierced his ears from a distance, breaking his focus.
"What’s that? Vyra, slow down a bit..."
Intrigued, Levi concentrated on the noise until a sound string appeared between them. Even though he was traveling at hundreds of kilometers an hour, the string remained affixed in its place!
The moment he tapped his finger on it, Levi’s dark world was painted by a chaotic vibrational world of an ongoing chase!
His eyebrows couldn’t help but knit solemnly after noticing five Daywalkers chasing three Daywalkers, no presence of a nightwalker in sight.
He had gone out many times before to train in his usual peaceful spot, and no such thing had ever happened.
Levi already knew that Daywalkers didn’t hesitate to attack each other for treasures in the wastelands.
That’s why they were forced to have their Data stored and searched in case a related death occurred to them.
’Hmmm, these sigils... Solmara Holy Region? What are they doing this far from their territory, and why are they chasing my people?’
Levi used his echolocation ability to filter out the noise until each Daywalker’s sigil was highlighted.
The sigil was a reflection of the region a Daywalker belonged to, and they were forced to wear them in the wastelands.
In the case of Heliodor’s region, their sigil reflected their Willow Grove stretching its branches around skyscrapers, appearing like a mother hugging her children. At the bottom, their region’s name was written in both English and IIthorien.
Meanwhile, the five strangers from the Solmara region were wearing a similar Sigil, but with a different colored Willow Grove. It resembled a Pine tree, piercing seven layers of clouds.
Intrigued, Levi left one ear next to each party and zoned out the rest of the noises, allowing him to pick up on both discussions simultaneously while still being many kilometers away from them.
Since his innate abilities were mastered to perfection, the only problem Levi had was his energy tank. The more he pushed his innate abilities, the faster his energy was exhausted.
The five strangers’ discussion:
-Shit! We have to catch them before they enter their region’s borders!-
-The Sensebound Pearl can’t fall into the hands of those f*ckers, not after everything we did, we lost, to secure it!-
-They are weak and tired, just keep up the chase!-
Meanwhile, the three strangers’ discussion:
-I have already called for backup! Just keep running!-
-Damn it, they are so persistent! It’s just a low-grade artifact. Does it really warrant this much trouble?-
-Whether it’s low-grade or not, Sir Alaric asked for it specifically, and we have to deliver it no matter what!-
Levi pinpointed the crux of the conflict from their discussion to be the low-grade artifact... Sensebound Pearl. While he knew about artifacts and their importance to Daywalkers, he had never heard of this treasure before.
’Ash’Kral, do you have some information about it?’ He asked.
’It’s a grade D spiritual artifact with the powers to refine one’s spiritual sense.’ Ash’Kral replied lazily.
’A psych type artifact?’ Levi raised an eyebrow, ’No wonder they are so heated about it.’
If totems were one-time use treasures with all sorts of capabilities, then artifacts were considered everlasting treasures that could accompany Daywalkers throughout their journey, depending on their potential.
Unfortunately, they were incredibly rare on Earth since the only places to find them were inside nests’ treasuries or in highly corrupted territories.
They were dimensional treasures refined from the remnants of the Shadow dimension’s entities over a long period by its corruptive atmosphere.
The artifact born possessed some limited powers related to the fallen entity.
’Such treasure can be sold in auctions up to tens of thousands of Solar Aegis coins if not more.’
Levi rarely got greedy, but as he stared with his ears from above at the chaotic chase, his mind was consumed with one thought.
’This artifact fits me perfectly... How do I get it from them without putting myself in danger or future trouble?’
While Levi would love to own an artifact that could amplify his spiritual prowess, he didn’t want to get caught deep in the mix of their conflict.
He could tell from their spiritual auras that their strongest was a Pathfinder while their weakest was a Junior Daywalker. If he dared to aim for it, he wouldn’t be antagonizing only one party, but both of them.
Although Levi’s confidence in his strength had increased immensely after the first game, he wasn’t foolish enough to take on this many Daywalkers higher than his rank without proper preparation or scouting.
’Fortunately, I have you...’ Levi glanced at his winged partner and patted her head with a faint grin.
Grrr?
She tilted her head in confusion, having no clue that he had already concocted a wicked plan in his mind.