Trope World - Volume 1 Chapter 19 Railway

I awoke to a tugging sensation. A set of cold green hands were braiding my beard. They belonged to Hertha the orc I picked up in the grotto. Sometimes, I thought about questioning her about that place. Strangely whenever I thought about questioning her something came up. What could she have done to awaken something from that grotto? Was now the time to bring up the grotto?

She yanked hard on various strands tightly binding them tightly before capping them with a bone bead. For a moment my mind went blank, and I forgot what I was thinking about. It was my fault for not trimming my beard. It had grown longer over that past week we’ve ridden the railway.

I hadn’t eaten in a week or drank water. I hadn’t taken a dump for three days now. Despite my lack of nutrients, my body continued to function feeding off my cultivation base. My hair grew and now my beard was long enough to be braided.

“Soon we’ll hit a spirit well. You should prepare to cultivate while we pass over it. There won’t be many more chances to cultivate until we reach the mountain.” Lazarus sternly proclaimed. The minotaur held my bag of spirit stones and fed the furnace powering the mining cart.

Lazarus sealed the cart’s furnace and sat beside me. He bumped up against me with his shaggy hair getting in my personal space. He’d done this often over the last week. “You can lean on me if you want. I’ll lean right back. That way we won’t accidently break the cart’s walls.”

“Go ahead maybe he’ll stay still long enough for me to finish.” Hertha grumbled. I leaned back against Lazarus’s sturdy back. His tail moved out of the way as he leaned against me. Despite the disparity between our strength, our weight was similar enough to keep us both leaning without discomfort. As I gained more constitution, I grew heavier. My cultivation base increased that variable further. As we leaned against each other, I glared at the cart.

To call our ride a mere cart wasn’t correct. This cart was divided into three box cars and the engine. It was a train but here it was called a cart. It was used to transport all manner of supply. The Deep Red Angus were in the back kept in a stall. Zarina was with them.

With multiple milk cows she paced herself and held back from killing them. A few hay bells of spirit grass were enough to replenish their lost qi. They gave Zarina a constant food source. That was fine by me. A hungry ornery calf wouldn’t be fun.

The door to our cart slid open and Zarina pranced out. Sticking out her black tongue she dabbed it in her nose before stopping beside me. In one motion she tipped herself over and fell in my lap. Hertha deftly dodged out of the way while Lazarus let out a chuckle. 900lbs of calf fell on my lap and shook the cart a little.

Zarina had transformed over the week. Her teeth were growing in and she’d started munching on the spirit hay and weening off milk. Her soft golden fur was as fine as silk. Each strand looked as if it were spun from solid gold. Eventually the calf grew tired of the petting and stood up and returned to the other cart. Hertha quickly forced herself on top of me to finish the last braid.

I reached up and flung Hertha off me after she placed the last bead. She picked up her spear and flung it at me. I spun out of the way and crossed the distance between us without making a sound. The spear hit Lazarus and bounced off. My hands closed around her neck and I started to choke her. Her eyes widened in surprise and a smile covered her face. Her legs wrapped around my waist and pulled me closer.

Relationship Skill Discovered: Orc Seduction lv2; passive; +40CHA

It was a wild and dangerous skill. So long as I courted or tried to obey the customs of the her race the skill leveled up. It had a full week for it to appear.

I placed my thumb under her chin as she choked. All the while she beat at me. Her legs were wrapped around my waist and she punched me in the neck, clawed at my chest, and lunged at me to bury her tusks in my throat. That’s why I kept my thumbs under her chin. Minutes later she stopped the fighting and went still. Slowly, I released the pressure she moved forward to rub her tusks around my lips.

“You’re learning.” She said in a breathy voice. I squatted to keep my base and took her with me to my side of the cart. There I had a rug Od had given me to sleep on. The light of my cracked pill furnace lit our box car. Her green skin seemed a lighter shade under the fire light.

“This was unexpected.” I said.

“Don’t get used to it. I’ll break into foundation building soon. When that happens you will be too weak to court me.” Hertha said with a chuckle. She studied my face and held one of the black and red beard braids. “It’s a shame, your hair is such a lovely color. Why do you insist on shaving your head?”

“The hair on my head doesn’t grow right. I’d rather shave it all than grow it in patches.” I muttered.

“I wonder if my new man will have such issues.” Hertha said.

“No centaurs have no trouble growing full heads of hair. Though, I don’t think you will survive the mounting process.” Lazarus chuckled and Hertha rolled her eyes. I rolled my shoulders and stood up.

“It doesn’t matter, I’ll be stronger than anyone in the foundation level when I reach the middle of qi condensation. I’ll surpass core formation before I reach the foundation stage.” I boasted.

Abstract Skill discovered Pride lv1; passive; +10INT/CHA

Charisma has surpassed a milestone

Power skill discovered: Mockery lv1; passive; +10CHA

More of my base was sucked away. My body was undergoing a transformation of sorts. Skin began to fleck off my face replaced with new smoother flesh. My hair became thicker, more vibrant, and hardier. I could feel my spinal column stretch as I grew slightly taller.

“I can’t believe that the humans haven’t taken over the world and enslaved us all.” Lazarus muttered.

“Are you sure he’s human? He’s taken to orc customs quickly. I’m sure I could give one of my weaker sisters to him and she wouldn’t complain.” Hertha said.

“One of your weaker sisters but not yourself. Perhaps you haven’t taught me well after all.” I said in a mocking voice.

“I would never misinform a friend.” She said and grabbed my hand. “I plan to climb to the top of the black moon sect on stairs made of c.o.c.ks. The most you could be is a fun night.” I snorted and turned away. The spirit well was getting close and we all sat down in a meditating position.

“We will talk more when we finish.” I said.

It was my first time being a cultivator in an environment full of spirit energy. The second we entered, I felt like a man who had been dying of thirst. I pulled in as much energy as I could, but it didn’t feel like enough. My qi compressed and I took in more compressing and taking in more. “Don’t forget to breath.” Lazarus said before going back to silence.

I took in a breath and the energy picked up. My base began to spin around as more spirit energy filled me. The spinning grew faster and faster. I continued to compress my qi until something popped. My base crashed in on itself and started to pull qi around me at an insane rate. The air picked up around me as my own personal drop of qi expanded to form a puddle. To my senses a small puddle began to form inside around my stomach. My qi pathways widened as qi traveled through them and back to the puddle.

“Now that you are at the second stage of qi condensation, you need to refine your qi and remove the impurities. Continue to breath and form an image. One that purifies your qi. That will increase your strength to greater heights.”

Qi condensation stage 2 multiplier 1.3

In my mind’s eye, I pictured my qi running through a simple coffee filter. Only a drop returned to my cultivation base at a time but that drop carried in it far greater power. “Don’t forget to cultivate while you refine your qi.” I continued to breath and bring in spirit energy once it was added to my base it was sent to be refined. The process carried on for days.

Abstract skill discovered: refinement lv1; passive; +20INT

Qi condensation stage 2 multiplier 1.35

Qi made for poor filters. Moments after I made an improvement the filter broke. The greater my improvement over the process the faster the filters would break. Qi was a poor filter. I needed something altogether more resilient. If qi didn’t work why not mana.

I was nervous, my mana didn’t want to become qi. After the initial entry into the spirit condensation stage my mana had violently protested further interaction with my body. What other choice did I have? If I waited for another chance to cultivate and refine it could be weeks from now. What if I’m too weak to fight off a monster or the stronger undead?

I lucked out meeting Lazarus and Hertha. They were growing quickly, sweat covered Hertha’s face as a transformation occurred. Her qi felt denser than before. A pressure had begun to emanate from her bathing her body in an aura. Lazarus wasn’t quite so quick to advance. His qi was climbing but at a slower rate overall. He had already increased his power by a dozen Hertha’s. I was half again stronger than Hertha.

Power began to radiate from Hertha and her BP climbed. 300,000, 600,000, 900,000, and 1,000,000 her power leveled out at 1,100,000. The spirit energy from the well dimmed sucked out into her cultivation base.

It was now or never. I was once again the weakest among the three of us.

I touched up the pure mana within me. Its power seemed boundless and colossal. Within it the wyrmling rested feeding off the ever-present force of my mana. Before, I had taken a large amount to exchange for cultivation base. This time I took the smallest possible slivers.

This was a game of operation with real consequences. A single mistake would leave me wracked with pain and a mess on the floor. No pressure.

I guided the mana down my qi pathways careful to pull my qi away from them to let the mana through. Without qi my pathways tried to shut. I was forced to move qi behind and in front of the string of mana. Moving the strand to my stomach where my cultivation base rested, I spun the strand forming a filter. My plan was to violently purify my spirit.

I restarted the process and took a breath. Spirit energy rained down like a waterfall. My body shook as my qi violently fought its way through the mana filter. Then a drop of qi fell. The drop was white in color and when it touched my body, I felt overwhelming power. I took a breath pulling in vast amounts of spiritual energy and sent it all against the mana filter.

Refinement lv5; passive; +100INT

Qi Multiplier 1.8

Battle Power 84,436.9(273,576)

Status

Health 27,288(88,413.1)

Stamina 15,700.5(50,869.7)

Mana 210,322(681,444)

STR 189.5(341.1) CON 144(259.2) DEX 168.1(302.58)

END 93.4(168.12) INT 869.1(1564.38) WIS 242(435.6)

CHA 64.1(115.38) PER 680(1224)

Days passed by and my mana filter continued to drop a single drop of purified white qi. As that happened the mana filtered darkened absorbing a myriad of colors. Once it reached a certain point, I sent it back into my mana pool and my fed it to my wyrmling. Then I replaced the filter and continued to cultivate.

Eventually, we left the spirit well. In less than a month we would be at the mountain. In 3 months at the army of the dead’s marching speed, they will reach Low Port.