Holden spent his first hour at the new house taking care of chores. He looked around the rooms and found the closet for the blankets and sheets. He made sure Maeve got the bigger bedroom. She argued with him for a few minutes, but she changed her mind when she saw the bed. It was so nice and big that she couldn't say no. It even had a headboard.
He found his own room. It was smaller than Maeve's, but it was still three times bigger than their old apartment. He sat down on the bed, and that was when he felt something.
The air was different.
It felt like he was breathing in energy. His body recognized it and started using it, even though his mind couldn't explain what it was.
He sat with it for a moment.
Then the system screen appeared and it had something new.
[Prime Zone Ambient Energy Detected.]
[Passive Absorption Active.]
[Current Multiplier: 100x.]
[Absorption Rate: 100x standard cultivation speed.]
Passive absorption. That means just by existing in this place and breathing, his body was getting power. He was building up energy reserves that normally take fighters years of hard work and meditation to collect.
At one hundred times the normal rate.
"Huh," he said, to nobody.
He wondered if he should stay awake and take advantage of the energy. If he practiced his drills or focused on his breathing, he could probably speed up the process and gain even more power.
He thought about that for a moment.
Then he lay back on the pillow and closed his eyes.
I'll think about it in the morning, he thought.
He was asleep in four minutes.
He dreamed about the Jaguar. It wasn't a dream about their fight. The animal was just standing in a big place that wasn't the arena. It watched him closely its gold eyes.
He was reaching for the Jaguar when the dream changed, moving on to something else. For a moment, he was in a dark place where he could hear breathing. Then, everything went blank.
Holden woke up around six in the morning. When he tried to sit up, his body reacted faster than he intended.
He heard a sharp crack.
It didn't feel like something was wrong. He felt like his body was settling into a new shape.
He sat fully upright and stayed there, blinking.
Something was different.
He put his hand on his chest and took a slow breath. The air felt different inside him. He felt like he was getting much more energy out of every breath he took.
His chest felt like it had more space in it than yesterday. His arms didn't feel like they had more muscle, but the strength was easier to use. It was as if the path from his brain to his muscles had become smoother while he slept.
He looked at the system screen.
[Breakthrough Detected: Rank 1 (1-Star), Rank 1 (2-Star).]
[Breakthrough Detected: Rank 1 (2-Star), Rank 1 (3-Star).]
[Current Fighter Rank: Rank 1 (3-Star).]
Two realms.
In his sleep.
Maeve was still sleeping. She had eaten a lot of food from the fridge last night. When she finished, she dropped onto the bed and fell asleep instantly.
He checked through the gap in her door, saw the blanket moving and closed it again quietly.
He left a note on the kitchen counter.
i've left for the academy archive. i'd be back by midday. There's food in the fridge, in case you forgot. Don't eat it all.
He paused, drew a small arrow pointing at the fridge in case she somehow missed it, then added another arrow in the opposite direction labeled also there's food here pointing at nothing in particular.