Chapter 52
Lets Get Wet
The crystal’s hum filled the hidden bowl like a living being.
Echoing off the granite walls and vibrating through the stone under their feet.
Kim knelt beside the source, her hair damp from the mist rising off the water, a peaceful smile softening her usually guarded face.
She mirrored her Water Affinity against the raw, pure Qi saturating the air, drawing it in slow, deliberate cycles.
The spring seemed to respond, tiny ripples spreading outward with each breath she took.
“That looks nice,” Chris muttered from a safe distance, careful not to disturb her.
He lowered himself awkwardly onto a flat rock, wincing as his metal leg scraped loudly against the granite.
The screech echoed sharply in the enclosed space.
He froze.
His wincing face slowly turned, ready with an apology.
She remained unfazed, eyes closed, completely lost to her cultivation.
Shrugging, Chris took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and tried to relax into his own attempt.
Water in the gas tank.
Tssssssss.
A flash of internal steam.
“Aaaaaaarrrggh!”
The scream tore out of him as his channels seized, the foreign energy clashing violently with his Affinity.
It felt like his insides were being doused and reignited all at once.
"Daaan! Daaan! I need meat! And a fire!" Chris wheezed, stumbling out of the cavern mouth and collapsing in a heap by their small campfire.
Cold sweat soaked his shirt, plastering it to his skin, and he shivered despite the afternoon sun.
Dan was there in an instant, club gripped white-knuckle tight, veins bulging in his forearms as he scanned the surroundings for threats.
Sweat ran down his scalp in rivulets, “Report!?”
George pounded up behind him, spear raised, eyes sharp. “Where!?”
“It tried to eat me!” Chris warned weakly, clutching his chest.
Poorcalibur quivered in Dan's hand as his Seed flexed, rattling the rocks around his feet.
“Where, what beast!?” Dan’s head snapped left and right, ready to charge.
“The beast…” Chris gasped, face pale, “Is that abomination!
He pointed a quivering finger at the faintly glowing cave.
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“I tried to cultivate it… I lost thirteen percent… I'm down to forty-three now.”
He dropped his head into his hands, voice muffled.
“I’m never going to recover from this…”
The cold sweat wasn't just from the clash—it was fear.
Real fear.
What if that's permanent damage?
What if I'm stuck weak forever?
His metal leg felt heavier, like dead weight now.
The fire crackled mockingly close against the strong mountain wind, throwing sparks that died quickly in the cold air.
The chill inside wouldn't leave.
“Bahahahahahaha,” Dan bent over, chest heaving.
Chris looked up at his brother, face twisted in betrayal.
He swung his gaze to his dad for support.
George crossed his scarred arms, shaking his head.
“I'm not mad, Son. I'm just disappointed.”
Dan stood, wiping a tear away, and gasping for breath.
“You dumb–what made you think that would–good idea?”
He couldn't stop his rumbling laugh.
“Well, Kim, she... ohhh screw the both of ya,” Chris spun away from them, inching closer to the fire like a wounded animal seeking warmth.
Dan and George shared a good, long chuckle before heading back to their tasks.
The laughter faded, leaving an awkward hush.
Chris stared into the flames, face flushed—not just from embarrassment.
Dan paused mid-stone lift, glancing back with a flicker of guilt.
George cleared his throat, sharpening slower.
Even the wind seemed to quiet, as if the bowl itself waited for the next blow.
The sound echoed a little too loud in the bowl, making everyone feel just a little exposed, a little alone.
Kim was thriving.
For her, the treasure was a perfect resource—a deep, endless well that matched her Affinity like it had been waiting for her.
Swirl, flow, follow..
She felt improvement with every repetition, the water Qi weaving into her channels without resistance, cool and welcoming.
After hours that felt like minutes, Kim’s session ended with a profound, structural shudder that ran from her core to her fingertips.
She opened her eyes, feeling the fluid power of her Qi surging through her veins like a living river.
She walked out smiling, mist still clinging to her skin.
“I feel like I could control every drop of water in that spring.”
“Finally some good news,” Dan smirked,
wiping dirt from his hands.
“Chris didn't do so hot, go take a break. I'm going to see if I get anything out of it.”
He passed Annette walking out, shaking her head, looking worn and frustrated—her attempt had yielded nothing but a headache.
The concentrated ambient energy had slowly eroded her foundations, weakening her seed.
Dan settled cautiously by the disturbingly still, clear water, looking down.
The surface was like glass, reflecting the jagged stalactites above.
The crystal structures’ swirling light refracted, casting waves to play along the rocky bottom.
He could see his reflection staring back—bald head shining, beard wild.
In the shiny surface of his scalp, a smaller bald man seemed to stare back again.
He shook his head, chuckling.
His mouth centered into a hard line.
He could feel the weight of the water, the immense pressure pulling it along from deep within the earth—a constant, ancient flow.
Dan spent the better part of two hours sitting there, dipping in carefully, glimpsing just the tips of the iceberg next to that small pool.
The smooth flow brought up the feeling of an uncontestable weight, mass beyond comprehension.
The weight of the mountain..
He just got the edges, It wasn't much, but it was something.
A couple percent. Better than nothing.
With a sigh, he got up and stretched his stiff muscles, joints popping from the cold stone.
Jimmy flowed back into the perimeter like a shadow, dropping a pile of wood and dry moss near the pool with a quiet thud.
"Yo?" Dan asked, his voice tired after a long day of hauling rocks and worrying.
"Good news: various enriched resources," Jimmy gestured at the pile.
"Bad: The worgs are in the mountains. I think… they have affinities…”
Jaime and Belle held hands, squeezing just a tad tighter, huddling closer to the fire.
Annette leaned back, slightly defeated from the constant struggle.
Dan’s eyebrows raised. “How long have we got to prepare?”
“Oh, not very long, I would say.”
Jimmy gazed off into the distance, eyes sharp.
Wind howled among the peaks, whipping through the bowl like a warning.
A distant howl answered—low, hungry, echoing off the granite.
“They are already watching us.”
