The fallen man fumbled over his words as he continued to try to say his name, “n-na-name is…”
At this failure some smirk or be in disbelief or just pure confusion but Florian only looked at the man in sadness.
His eyes wandered over his body—studying the events that could have possibly led to this and his mouth steady in its place as he pulled out the pistol sleeping on his right hip.
He placed the cold barrel on the man’s head as they met eyes.
“W-wa-wai-wait, I just want you to take me to the hospital,” he rushed his words as an inevitable death glared at him.
Flo’s fingers wrapped tightly around the gun, as one finger grips more tightly than the rest:
Bang!
The shot rang out for the miles, terrifying screeching birds out of their sanctuaries.
A gaping hole crowned the man’s forehead.
Blood flowing like a mountain stream.
Florian turned away and walked down the path towards the city.
“Honestly, leaving a poor man even if he is your enemy to suffer from essence overuse is…” he didn’t finish the sentence as he carried on walking.
30 minutes later, Flo spotted the top of the city walls.
He passed through the gate and into the city safely.
Looking up at the sky, Flo noticed there was still a bit of time until night and so ventured through the city.
Finding a place interesting enough he entered.
It was the city’s public library.
The books were stacked on winding shelves circling round the building.
The smell of musty tea covered the place as dust was covering every shelf possible—the only exceptions were the books just taken out to read which were very very very few.
Looking around for an interesting book, Flo spotted the librarian, a blonde haired girl with beautiful emerald eyes.
Her hair twisted into a double braid.
Shifting his attention back to the books he finally found one he was interested in, ‘The stages of life cores explained’.
Finding a nice window seat, he sat down with the book.
Glancing through the window were a few shops all selling similar things—high quality life cores.
The union does have all the life cores you most likely would ever need but the life cores these shops sell are the special kind.
Either very rarely element cores like gravity/space cores or cores that come from dungeons, towers or essence plains.
Shifting his attention from the empty shop’s back to the book he flipped through the pages.
Eventually he found what he was looking for.
‘Major and Minor Stages:
There are 12 minor stages.
per major stage.
A major stage is Iron stage or bronze stage for example.
To advance through minor stages you need to absorb life essence from cores of the same major stage and element.
To break through to the next major stage you will need to absorb a life core of the same element and of the next major stage.’
Not learning much new information, Florian carried on reading.
‘Obtaining Life Essence:
Life essence can only be obtained safely through one way.
By meditating and opening up your core.
This allows for the nearest life essence to be attracted to the core and enter it.
However, this is useless as there is a miniscule amount roaming in the air.
This method is much more effective when using a life core of the same realm and element.
The only exception is when advancing to the next major realm.
When absorbing the life essence of life cores, beings of the same stage with the same stage life cores, can advance at different rates because even the same level cores have different volumes of life essence contained within it.
This means that beings at the same level might need a different amount of cores because of the exact amount of essence contained in a core.
The Major Stages and What They Mean:
From iron to bronze to silver to gold to platinum, all of these major stages are the same.
All of them are about collecting as much life essence as can be stored.
The more life essence you collect, the stronger the attraction of nearby life essence is, so you can use it instantly in a fight.
And the stronger the attraction from the core, the easier you can control the essence.
Then you hit the Crystallisation Realm.
This major stage only has 2 minor realms that are for refining your core into a crystal.
By turning your core into a crystal you start to not only extend your lifespan but also refine your element to be able to control it more effectively and more dangerously.
After the Crystallisation Realm, a lot more major stages are all about being able to control your element and amplifying its power.
Very few make it to this stage and the overall 8 major stages from pseudomaster until sage realm is nicknamed the ‘whisper of eternity’ as greed to absorb life essence overtakes everything else and it never ends unless you’re one in a billion who make it to the sage realm.
The sage realm has very little known about it—the few facts we do know is that your core mixes with another element and you have two elements to bend to your will.’
This section of the book ended here and Flo’s eyebrows lifted slightly at the introduction of another element but that was it.
His gaze wandered back to the shops as he closed the book and rested his jaw on his hand.
The shops were still empty except for one customer.
It was Biland.
Bil entered the bright yellow shop that took up most of Flo’s window view.
Staring through the shop’s ornamental display cases, Flo could make out Bil’s figure lingering over a specific section at the far right end furthest from the shop entrance.
Getting up, not wanting to be seen by Bil when he leaves, he returns the book to the same spot he took it from and leaves the library.
An orange blanket comforted the city as Flo walked through the half-empty streets where only the running and exhausted squeals of children were audible.
A shout came from behind, it was obvious who it was.
“Florian, I didn’t expect to meet you at this time, are you going home if so let’s go together, I need to do something at the shop anyway?” It was a friendly Bil.
Flo responded in kind, “sure lets walk together.”
“What adventures have you been up to Florian?” Bil asked and the question made Flo feel slightly awkward and uncomfortable.
As they walked, Florian did a slight sensitization of the events in the dungeon and explained it to Bil.
“Then we were surrounded by a golem and…” they made it to the shop in the middle of the story and went inside.
Finishing the story at the counter, Flo then went upstairs and into his room.
The piles of books and mechanisms from the sun cultists lab are now lying in the opposite corner of the bed.
Except for that, the room is unchanged.
Moving towards his bed, he sat in a meditative pose for 2 hours.
His eyes opened as he felt his essence strengthen.
He opened his plink’s menu to witness the changes:
[Job – Adventurer
Currency – 0 Shards 0 Sols 0 Eclipse Shards (Owes 250 shards to All Gunnery to be paid within 87 sunrises)
Life Core Element – Blood
Weapon Body – Gun Body
Innate Body – Marksman Rifle
Current Level – Beginner Gun Body
Realm – 7th Stage of Iron Core Gathering Realm.
Realm stabilisation – 7th Stage of Iron Core Gathering Realm
Location – Brimnar City
Date – 16th Sunrise of Summer of Year 4032]
Flo’s gaze was attracted to one particular section:
[Innate Body – Marksman Rifle
Current Level – Beginner Gun Body]
Florian was ready to breakthrough to the next weapon level.
Weapon bodies work in a simple way.
After getting enough experience with the weapon, the owner of said weapon body would feel a limit that can be broken.
It simply gives a tingling sensation whenever you pick up and use the weapon.
Flo would have felt something like this near the end of the dungeon.
By breaking through to the next stage, you get a general increase in power when using the weapon and the power gap between weapon bodies grows as the level increases.
The levels go like so:
Beginner
Advanced Beginner
Competent
Proficient
Novice Master
Mompetent Master
Grandmaster
Weapon Name King
Weapon Name Emperor
There are higher levels above these.
Florian once again closed his eyes and stared deep into his own body.
His consciousness seemingly teleports to another plain of existence.
His full body appeared and it was as if he was actually there except he wasn’t.
He has been placed inside a jungle.
Trees towered around him with uniquely rough textures and taller than any in the Greywood Forest.
The leaves blocked the sky but failed or made no resistance to stop the impenetrable gaze of the sun.
The golden ball of light blinded Florian, leaving the surroundings except for directly up, some nearby trees and nearby nature’s mess visible.
The rest made of pure light.
Trying to glance around for information a hand stabbed out from the light crafted by the same material—what was different was what the hand held.
A rifle; a rifle blessed in gold and cherry red.
Florian grabbed the rifle from the hand.
What this is was obvious to Flo—it’s his weapon trial.
All he needed to do was pass the test and he would make it to the next level.
The only rule, not one that you can really break, is to not use your element.
It’s impossible to break because you can’t call on it even if you wanted to as this is only your consciousness not your real body.
A chained incorrigible mutter grumbled through the light from the direction of the hand.
Not being able to understand it, Flo tried to find what his test is.
Most likely to shoot something, something that is most likely flying as the only far distance space he could see was the sky barely peeking through the leaves as if terrified by something.