Hot steam rose when Leonard's skin contacted the water. It was as if his skin was so hot it was trying to evaporate the cold water. Leonard closed his eyes and concentrated; soon, the steam stopped as his skin no longer gave out heat.
'A rejection.'
That was how Leonard would have described what was happening. Water had some Qi in it; when this Qi came in contact with the Qi on Leonard's skin, it caused his Qi to reject the Qi from the water, resulting in it evaporating. Not all water has Qi. Caesar had chosen his source of bathing water specifically because it was filled with Qi as a way to train.
Although his body was rejecting the Qi, a small, negligible amount was able to fuse into his body. The Qi in the water wasn't Positive nor Negative Qi, but another type called **Amplifying Qi**—a type of Qi that grants the body a physical boost. Unlike the two main types, Amplifying Qi wasn't harmful as long as you didn't have too much of it.
The measure of how much Qi a person can have depends on their Rank. For those with Classes, they have eight Ranks, starting from One up to Four—where a qualitative change takes place—then to Eight, where you are at the pinnacle of your Class. Caesar didn't have a Rank because he didn't have a Class; his body was rejective of other Qi. Only those with Classes can freely allow all sorts of Qi into their bodies; those without can only absorb negligible amounts.
With a Sigh Leonard thought
'I wonder why, even though I'm Leonard and not Caesar, you're still following me around.'
In the bathtub with Leonard was a burning figure. Flesh was slowly flowing from its face; its skull could be seen.
"You ran away..."
"You should have died with us..."
"Even now, you still cause problems for Melissa..."
"You useless heir..."
"It would be easy if you just killed yourself, right?"
It spoke in multiple voices, making it have an extremely hoarse, unbearable voice. The water didn't move despite the burning flesh. In the reflection of the water, only Leonard was lying in the bathtub—nothing else. The air didn't change; it was normal.
Leonard looked at the figure in front of him. Like dust, it vanished. Leonard's golden eyes held a strange light in them.
"You follow me like a shadow. I see your suffering face every day, yet you don't even exist anymore. But still, you haunt me. Even when I'm not Caesar, you still appear," Leonard muttered to himself. His expression was strange.
With another sigh, he stood up from the tub after cleaning himself. He noticed that there were faint golden lines on his body.
'Materialistic Qi.'
Materialistic Qi, as the name suggests, is Qi that can be manifested and seen by the user. The candle he had once lit was lit using Materialistic Qi. But unlike those with Classes, he could only barely manifest it. The reason it was showing now was because of the intake and rejection of foreign Qi.
Be it Positive, Negative, or Materialistic, all Qi followed one rule
Qi can never change its color.
If my Positive Qi is golden, all other Qi I have will be golden. The color of Qi was different for every person. Caesar had black Qi; however, once Leonard started taking over his body, his Qi changed to the color gold. Leonard simply linked this to something to do with the Witch. However, despite his Qi changing color, he didn't notice any other change. He expected to awaken some destructive power given by the Witch, but his body was the same; he didn't have a Class.
He grabbed a towel and wiped the water off himself.
'Perhaps I have to unbind the chains.'
When in the Witch's world, Leonard noticed that his body had twelve chains; perhaps this was what was stopping him from unlocking a Class. But the question that popped up next in his head was: 'How do I unbind the chains?'
The Witch had never told him much. He was clueless when it came to what to do. Leonard would have loved to live his new Royal life, but he was supposed to go to some strange town eventually, and he needed to be strong by then. He needed power—fast.
However, he was clueless as to how to achieve this. Dipping himself in water full of Amplifying Qi for a long time wouldn't work. First, if the water contained one hundred Qi, Leonard's body would reject 99.89, leaving only the rest to enter; this was an extremely low amount. Second, if he were to obtain more than 0.10, the rest of the Qi wouldn't be able to enter his body due to his low input and storage. Worst-case scenario: he dies due to an unstable balance of Positive and Negative Qi. If his body didn't handle it properly, he could face Corruption.
Leonard had to be mindful of the balance of Positive and Negative Qi; he didn't want to disrupt it. If he were to die again, he wasn't sure if the Witch would show mercy. Caesar also knew to be mindful of the balance.
Leonard had three ways to raise his strength:
First, He could train his body physically and hope to one day reach the equivalent of a Rank Two. However, this was nothing but a dream. It would take a tremendous amount of time, and only certain weapons and blessings could let a body achieve this. This was the method Caesar was originally going for.
Second, Using spells cast by a Mage to continuously grant an increase in strength. This method was fast but temporary. It also didn't provide privacy; if a Mage cast a spell on you, you would be at their mercy.
The third method was quite ironic, and the one Leonard had already done
'Commit treason.'