Deep within the Magical Beasts' Forest, there is a place forbidden to those outside the Inner Circle, and even they are advised not to go. Beasts with seven cores and above resided there. It was no easy task for anyone to acquire a core of that level. Many tried, for the possibility of breaking the limiting barriers of cultivation was a pipe dream for most.
The three great sects cooperated when venturing into those places; dividing the spoils was always a struggle. Normally, it was decided through blood combat.
In the depth of the forest, one could see tree leaves shaking rapidly. "We cannot stop moving," the voice boomed inside the boy's head. "Do you think I don't know that?" he replied, annoyed.
Shoneyi put his hands into his pockets to grab something. He stopped on one of the branches of a tree for only two seconds, took a deep breath, and his presence vanished from his surroundings. "You're getting the hang of it, eh, kid?" The proud voice exploded in his head. "Now, do it!"
A loud explosion enveloped the place where the boy had been. After what Yuiji said, I imagined it was powerful, surprise was drawn on his face. This is on another level.
Laughter echoed inside his head. "I told you, boy, the great—!" Panic gripped the soul of the quill and inkwell. "Yes, I know, you're amazing," Shoneyi replied, and he could hear the soul's worry settle down.
After Yuiji's restorative nap, the boy exclaimed: "Shone, this is awesome!" His face reflected genuine admiration for his friend. "But what it has in awesomeness, it has in danger."
The boy began to walk around the bed. He tried to make sense of how it had arrived there, what brought it to that spot, and how the hell it ended up in Shoneyi's possession. "But why a bed?" The question was etched on his face.
Yuiji began to explain the workings of Magnification to Shoneyi, something he didn't understand very well but possessed enough basic knowledge to grasp that what lay before his eyes was a treasure.
Normally, people spend countless amounts of Stardust to acquire some magnified weapon. Equipment is commonly seen magnified: gloves, a helmet, perhaps even a cloak. Obviously, weapons, such as crossbows, swords, daggers. This significantly increased their power; a high-performance magnifer could increase its original source up to ten times. A Double Magnification achieved it one hundred times more.
Shoneyi looked at the bed with a new perspective. So this is what Gambi meant, he thought to himself while nodding. "So, why aren't there more magnified objects?" the owner of the cave finished asking.
Between laughs and tears in his eyes, Yuiji replied: "Come on, as if getting a magnifer were that easy!" He wiped away his tears, finishing with a sharp pain in his stomach. "If it weren't for you finding that bed, you might never have known anything about Magnification."
Shoneyi looked at the bed, then at his friend. "You're right, I'm still new to this world." The boy's voice and smile were somewhat awkward. "Thanks for everything, Yu!" Shoneyi saw his friend out the door and immediately activated his Concealment Matrix.
A heavy sigh entered Shoneyi's thoughts. "Your friend will bring us trouble, boy." This made the room vibrate. "We should perhaps…" The sensation Shoneyi felt in his body reminded him of the one he experienced before seeing his parents die. "Stop!" He shouted to halt Gambi in his tracks.
Shoneyi, annoyed, sat cross-legged and thought intensely: "Gambi, I know you don't know anything about it." The boy stopped his thoughts to allow the quill and inkwell's intrigue to take hold.
"Know about what, kid?" the intrigued soul responded.
Shoneyi sighed mentally: "What else could be magnified… besides weapons, of course?" He shook his head in negation.
With a laugh, the soul replied: "You won't fool me, kid, I won't help you with anything." If it had physical shoulders, they would be shrugging.
Disappointed, Shoneyi said: "Just as I imagined… You have no knowledge of those things. You're not as wise as you claim to be." He finished, slowly opening one eye and beginning to break his posture.
A feeling of frustration invaded the boy. "STOP!" The voice boomed in his head. "Open your hands and grab that rock in front of you!"
Shoneyi, even with his eyes closed, could feel a small rock in front of him; gathering his spiritual energy, he called the rock to land in his right hand. "Now, learn!" The last word carried its own consciousness.
Shoneyi entered a spiritual realm again. It was as if all the words of the world surrounded his space, but at the same time, he wasn't able to read any. After a few minutes, he managed to distinguish one word: "Rock." This time it was much easier to read than the last time.
The word was connected to an infinite number of networks; one of them lit up and read: "Strike."
Shoneyi switched the rock to his left hand, and with his right, he took the quill, dipped the tip into the inkwell, and prepared to write: "Strike." As this happened, the rock began to absorb the energy within the boy. The energy drain was absurd, but it didn't compare to what he had already experienced with the bed.
Shoneyi was left with only half a core again, but now he knew the bed would help him regain his energy quickly.
After a few weeks of repeating the action of magnifying the stone, this became common for him. Entering the Realm of Magnification to find the name, repeat it, and write it was becoming second nature to the boy. "It's time to test it." Shoneyi opened his eyes and came out of meditation with a determination capable of moving a mountain. "It's time to go to the forest!"
His first attack movements were against immovable trees. The damage caused by the thrown stones was like that of an immense boulder. "I am the best… my wisdom knows no bounds!" The soul resonated in the boy's mind with airs of superiority.
Shoneyi ventured further and further into the Forest of Beasts. It was then that three three-core magical beasts began to pursue him. The boy's movements were agile. Shoneyi jumped from branch to branch subtly, almost without generating any movement in them. "Now is the moment!" he thought to himself.
This time, the boy waited one extra second to draw the beasts closer. The three-core magical beast lunged over his head, but Shoneyi was much faster. "It's time to see how useful you are." Shoneyi dodged the attack to the side, created more distance with short steps, his hand slid into his pockets and grabbed the magnified stone. He stretched out his right hand and threw it with all his strength. The beast had a hole where its chest used to be.
Shoneyi repeated the movement three more times. One of them missed and created a crater in the ground. The boy collected the cores and, with bright eyes, could feel how he was getting closer to becoming stronger. "One step closer to immortality."