Lex membutuhkan lebih banyak waktu untuk mengenal kalung itu, serta lingkungannya. Meskipun kalung itu berpotensi mengizinkannya menampilkan kekuatan penuhnya, ia tidak bisa menyerap dan memancarkan energi sekaligus — hal yang Lex pelajari setelah sedikit bereksperimen.
Artinya mimpinya menjadi sangat kuat hancur. Paling tidak ketahanan kalung itu setara dengan tubuh aslinya, artinya tidak akan mudah dihancurkan.
Lex memperkirakan saat ini kalung itu memiliki energi setara kultivator tingkat 3 Latihan Qi rata-rata yang... jauh tidak mencukupi kebutuhannya.
Jika dia fokus, dia bisa mempercepat laju penyerapan energi kalung, tapi pada akhirnya dia akan terbatas oleh energi lingkungan. Skenario terbaik adalah menemukan wilayah di tanah ini dengan energi lebih melimpah, dan menyerap dari sana.
Beberapa jam penyelidikan kemudian, Lex menghabiskan sekitar 50% energi di kalung, tapi menemukan banyak hal. Pertama, hukum di realm ini sangat stabil — sampai Lex kini mencurigai dirinya berada di sudut atau subspace di dalam realm Dewasa.
Kedua, aliran waktu di sini lebih cepat dari apapun yang pernah dia alami. Sulit diperkirakan karena dia lemah, tapi dia menebak aliran waktu di sini antara sembilan puluh hingga seratus lima puluh kali lebih cepat dari realm Dewasa biasa!
Aliran waktu begitu cepat mengingatkannya pada Midnight Realm saat baru terbentuk. Namun, hukum di tempat ini terlalu padat dan stabil untuk realm baru. Ada hal lain yang main di sini.
Tapi Lex tidak bisa memikirkannya sebelum pulih. Untuk itu, mau tidak mau, dia mungkin harus mengandalkan River dan Pearl yang muda.
Selama ini, dia juga menemukan kalungnya memberi beberapa keuntungan pada pemakai fana. Pertama, ia bisa memancarkan cahaya hangat lembut saat diperintah. Seolah itu belum cukup, ia menyucikan seluruh energi spiritual sebelum menyentuh Pearl, membuat fondasi kultivasinya yang ringan jadi cukup kuat untuk levelnya. Di luar itu, kalung itu punya efek penyembuhan dan pemulihan halus padanya, yang memainkan peran kunci dalam kelangsungan hidupnya.
Faktanya, Pearl dan River sudah lama sadar efek penyembuhan kalung itu, karena itu mereka memakainya bergantian tergantung siapa butuh lebih.
Satu efek yang tak mereka ketahui: kalung juga punya daya pencegah kuat pada semua hewan dan binatang buas, sehingga mereka tak diserang meski sendirian di liar. Kalung itu, akhirnya, mengandung sedikit Dragons Might, dan itu lebih dari cukup untuk menakut-nakuti hewan dan binatang buas biasa.
Secara keseluruhan, mereka berdua mendapat banyak manfaat. Pertanyaannya sekarang, apa yang harus dilakukannya? Brincan samping, Lex tidak berniat melekat pada mereka berdua hanya karena bangun bersamaan. Dia butuh rencana sendiri untuk yang terbaik baginya.
Tapi, untuk saat ini, tinggal bersama mereka satu-satunya pilihan nyata.
Lex merenung sebentar soal langkah selanjutnya. Dia bisa menelusuri memori River untuk belajar tentang tempat ini, tapi energinya sangat terbatas, dan dia tak mau membazirkannya.
Akhirnya, dia putuskan tidak melakukan apa-apa intens untuk saat ini. Sebagai gantinya, dia pakai energi seminimal mungkin untuk kirim pesan ke kesadaran bawah River. Solusi masalah meridiannya, serta situasi saat ini, bisa ditemukan di kota terdekat. Dia hanya perlu pergi dan cari kesempatan itu.
Lex serahkan detail cara ke kota terdekat ke River. Dia hanya fokus memulihkan energinya.
Mereka berdua tidur lagi sebentar, berpelukan, mengusir kelelahan yang melanda. Guntur yang meledak tepat di atas mereka, membangunkan keduanya.
"Sepertinya akan hujan sebentar lagi," kata Pearl suara agak mati saat baru bangun. "Bantu kumpulkan daun segar, kita bikin pakaian sementara sampai dapat perlindungan lebih baik."
Pearl tampak terbiasa anyam pakaian dari tumbuhan, dan River menunjukkan keahlian mengumpulkan bahan yang dibutuhkan meski tubuhnya melemah. Sejak meridiannya robek, badan River perlahan melemah.
Lex fokus menyerap energi ke kalung, sisakan sedikit perhatian pada dua pemuda itu. Setelah bikin pakaian sementara, mereka cari perlindungan dan makanan, tapi sulit di kegelapan awan.
Akhirnya, pakai cahaya samar liontin, mereka berhasil mencari beberapa buah dan sayur di liar, meski tidak semua matang. Sayangnya, mereka tidak punya banyak pilihan.
River mengusulkan ke kota, tapi Pearl ragu. Mereka diburu orang-orang Baron Nester, dan pengaruhnya bisa sampai ke kota yang tidak langsung di bawah kendalinya. Tapi, dia tidak ragu lama.
Satu, mereka benar-benar kehabisan pilihan. Kedua, dia sudah mati rasa dan lelah dengan hidup ini. Bahkan kalau di kota hanya menemukan akhir, dia akan terima.
Masalah berikutnya... bagaimana cari kota? Tak ada bintang panduan, tidak ada kompas, dan mereka tak kenal sekitar.
Ini bukan pertama kali mereka tersesat di liar, jadi kelangsungan hidup tidak terancam, tapi situasi jauh dari ideal. Mereka hanya bisa bergerak mengikuti intuisi River yang tampak bekerja lebih baik dari sebelumnya. Seolah mengarahkannya ke kota yang dia sendiri tak kenal.
Hanya bergantung satu sama lain dan ketrampilan bertahan di liar, mereka berdua menempuh empat hari di kegelapan, menahan hujan dingin dan angin berhauruh before they found a cobblestone road, cutting through the wilderness!
Jalan itu tanda peradaban, dan lebih penting, tanda penguasa bijak dan kaya di dekatnya, karena tidak semua kota repot bangun jalan di luar tembok!
Mengikuti jalan, mereka melewati ladang bunga liar lilac yang bersinar bahkan di malam, memanjang sejauh mata memandang. Bahkan Pearl, yang tampak mati rasa terhadap dunia, terhenti menikmati pemandangan.
Lex juga berhenti, dan bukan hanya karena indahnya. Dia merasakan cadangan energi spiritual tersembunyi di dekatnya. Dia hafal tempatnya kalau energi di kota kurang.
Masalah tempat ini sekarang, cadangan energi terbungkus, dan tidak bisa diakses sampai penyumbatan dibersihkan. Ironisnya, penyumbatan itulah yang memungkinkan energi terkumpul.
Beberapa jam kemudian, mereka melihat cahaya samar di ufuk, dan seharian perjalanan lagi akhirnya sampai di Kota Batu Biru. Pemandangan kota mengejutkan keduanya, karena meski sudah lihat banyak kota, mereka belum pernah lihat seperti ini.
Tembok kota setinggi hampir lima puluh kaki (15 meter), dan itu hanya tembok terluar. Dari jauh terlihat tembok lebih besar di dalam kota, seolah menyembunyikan harta berharga atau rahasia besar.
Kebisingan kota terasa bahkan di luar tembok, hanya dari suara yang datang dari atas tembok. Keramaian di gerbang, tapi, sepi, terutama karena muson tak ada yang bepergian.
"Berhenti!" kata pengawal, melangkah di depan River dan Pearl, memandang penampilan mereka yang lusuh.
"Kota Batu Biru tidak menampung pengemis. Kalau tidak punya uang, atau penjamin di kota, kalian bisa daftar jadi pekerja tambang. Itu satu-satunya cara masuk."
River dan Pearl tidak terkejut mendengar pernyataan itu.
"Kami tidak punya uang, tapi bukan pengemis," kata River. "Di belakangku Dr. Pearl — Dokter Spirit. Alasan kami kondisi begini karena kafilah kami diserang bandit di jalan. Kami jalan kaki berhari-hari."
Para prajurit memandang River ke Pearl dengan skeptis, ragu percaya begitu saja.
"Baiklah, seorang pengawal akan mengiringi kalian ke Klinik Medis Alun-Alun Kota. Kalau bisa konfirmasi kalau dia dokter, masuk gratis. Kalau tidak, bayar uang masuk 7 keping tembaga masing-masing, atau daftar di tambang."
Lex took more time to familiarize himself with the necklace, as well as his surroundings. Although the necklace had the potential to allow him to display its full power, it could not absorb and emit energy at the same time - something Lex learned after a little experimentation.
That meant his dreams of being all powerful were quashed. At least the toughness of the necklace matched that of his true body, meaning that it would not be so easily destroyed.
Lex estimated that currently the necklace had the same amount of energy as an average level 3 Qi training cultivator which was... far from sufficient for his means.
If he focused, he could accelerate the rate at which the necklace absorbed energy, but he would ultimately be limited by the ambient energy. The best case scenario would be to find a region within this land with more abundant energy, and absorb from it there.
After a few hours of investigation, Lex expended about 50% of the energy in the necklace, but discovered a great many things. First of all, the laws within this realm were extremely stable - to the point where Lex now suspected that he was in some corner or subspace within a Mature realm.
Secondly, the flow of time here was faster than anything he had ever experienced before in his life. It was tough to estimate since he was so weak, but he guessed that the flow of time here was anywhere between ninety to a hundred and fifty times faster than a typical Mature realm!
Such a quick flow of time reminded him of the Midnight Realm when it was only being formed. However, the laws within this place were too dense and too stable for this to be a new realm. There was something else at play here.
But Lex could not concern himself with that until he recovered. For that, whether he wanted to or not, he might need to rely on young River and Pearl.
During this time, he had also discovered that his necklace offered a few perks to the mortal wearing it. First of all, it could emit a soft, warm light on command. As if that was not enough, it cleansed any and all spiritual energy before it touched Pearl, making her meager cultivation foundation quite strong for her level. Beyond that, the necklace had a subtle healing and rejuvenating effect on her as well, which had played a key role in her survival.
In fact, Pearl and River had long noticed the healing effect of the necklace, which is why they wore it alternatingly depending on who needed it more.
One effect that they didn’t know was that the necklace also had a strong deterrent effect on all animals and beasts, which is why they weren’t attacked despite being alone in the wilderness. The necklace, after all, had a hint of Dragons Might, and that was more than enough to deter all simple animals and beasts.
All in all, they’d gained quite a few benefits from the two of them. The question now was, what was he to do? Jokes aside, Lex had no intentions of latching onto these two just because he’d woken up alongside them. He needed to make his own plans for what was best for him.
That said, for the moment, staying with them was the only real option for him.
Lex pondered for a bit about how to proceed. He could look through River’s memory to learn about this place, he had really limited energy, and he didn’t want to waste it.
In the end, he decided against doing anything intensive for the moment. Instead, he used the least possible energy he could to transmit a message to River’s subconscious. The solution to his meridian problem, as well his current predicament, could be found in the nearest city. He merely needed to go and search for such an opportunity.
Lex would leave the details of how to get to the nearest city to River. He would simply focus on recovering his energy.
The two youths slept for a while longer, huddled against each other, washing away some of the exhaustion that was plaguing them. A clap of thunder right above them, however, woke the two up.
"It looks like it’ll start to rain soon," Pearl said in a somewhat numb voice as soon as she woke up. "Help me gather some fresh leaves, we’ll make temporary clothing until we can find better shelter."
Pearl seemed experienced in weaving clothing from plants, and River showed his expertise in gathering the supplies she needed despite his weakening body. Ever since his meridians had been torn, River’s body had been slowly weakening.
Lex focused on absorbing energy into the necklace, leaving only a trace of his attention on the two young lovers. After they made themselves some temporary clothing, they started to search for shelter and food, but that was easier said than done in the darkness caused by the clouds.
In the end, using the faint light of the locket, they were able to scavenge some fruits and vegetables in the wilderness, though not all of it was ripe. Unfortunately, they didn’t have much of a choice in what to eat.
River brought up the idea of heading to a city, but Pearl hesitated. They were being hunted by the men of Baron Nester, and his influence could extend even to cities that weren’t under his direct control. However, she did not hesitate for too long.
For one, they were really out of options. Secondly, she had grown numb and exhausted from this life. Even if all they found in the city was an end, she would accept it.
The next problem was... how to find a city? There were no stars to guide their way, they had no compass, nor were they familiar with the surroundings.
This wasn’t the first time they were lost in the wilderness so their survival wasn’t at risk, but the situation was far from ideal. They could only move according to River’s intuition which seemed to be working better than ever before. It seemed like it was guiding him towards a city he didn’t even know about.
Depending only on each other and their skill in wilderness survival, the two of them traveled for four days in the darkness, enduring cold rain and howling winds before they found a cobblestone road, cutting through the wilderness!
The road was a sign of civilization, and much more importantly, a sign of a wise and affluent ruler nearby, for not all cities bothered building roads outside their walls!
While following the road, they happened to cross a field of lilac wildflowers that glowed even in the dark, extending as far as the eye could see. Even Pearl, who seemed completely numb to the world, paused to take in the sight.
Lex paused too, and not just because of how beautiful it was. He sensed a hidden reserve of spiritual energy nearby. He memorised the place in case the spiritual energy within the city was lacking.
The problem with this place currently was that the energy reserve was blocked off, and couldn’t be accessed until the blockage was cleared. Ironically, it was the blockage itself which allowed the energy to accumulate.
A few hours later, the two of them saw faint lights on the horizon, and one more day of travel later they finally reached Blue Stone City. The sight of the city stunned the two, for although they had seen multiple cities, they had seen nothing like this.
The city walls rose nearly fifty feet (15 meters) in the air, and those were just the outermost walls. From afar they could see even larger walls deeper within the city, as if hiding some precious treasure or great secret.
The hustle and bustle of the city could be felt even outside the walls, simply from the noise coming from over the walls. The crowds at the gates, though, were thin, mainly due to the fact that no one was traveling during the rainy season.
"Halt!" said the guards, stepping in front of River and Pearl, taking in their worn appearance.
"Blue Stone City does not abide by beggars. If you have no money, or no guarantor in the city, then you can go sign up as workers for the mines. That’s the only way you can enter."
Neither River nor Pearl were surprised to hear such a statement.
"We have no money, but we’re not beggars," said River. "Behind me is Dr. Pearl - a Spirit Doctor. The only reason we’re in our current condition is because our caravan was attacked by bandits on the road. We’ve been traveling by foot for days."
The soldiers looked from River to Pearl sceptically, unsure of whether to believe them so easily.
"Alright, a guard will follow you to the City Square Medical Clinic. If they can confirm you’re a doctor, then your entry is free. Otherwise, you pay your entry toll of 7 copper pieces each, or you sign up at the mines."
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