CHAPTER 36: ENERGY ABSORPTION
The training grounds were silent. Rows of squads sat cross-legged, all trying to enter their inner domain. But John found it second nature by now.
On the outside, he sat in a meditative pose. But inside, he was sprawled in the silent void—purple threads drifting like veins through the darkness, sinking into the abyss below, while the red core above pulsed with its slow rhythm.
Echo's voice slid into his mind.
[Sigh. You know, even I am starting to get tired of this charade.]
John smirked faintly. "Huh. What did you say? Oh no, no, no, no. We wouldn't want that. The great and powerful you, bored? Perish the thought."
[Well said, minion. If you want to entertain me... hmm, you could start by acting like a monkey. Wait, you already are a monkey. Hahahahaha.]
John's brow twitched. "Wow, I've never seen a case quite like yours… I don't even think it exists."
[Of course. I am one of a kind,] Echo said with a smug voice.
"Indeed you are," John said as he closed his eyes.
A few minutes later, John stood up and stretched lightly.
[You do know that does virtually nothing, right?]
"Of course. I just wanted to do it." A beat later, John said, "By the way, what's the whole point of accessing the inner domain and stuff? Can't we just use the origin scripts to absorb energy?"
Echo gave a dry response.
[The whole point of the origin scripts is that they teach you a way to absorb energy into your inner domain. If you can't even access it, how do you plan to absorb energy through them?]
John tilted his head, watching the purple threads coil and twist. "So the script's basically a normal book that shows you how to absorb energy?"
[Pretty much. Among a few other things. But that basic one you were given? You'll just end up sucking in low-quality garbage full of impurities.]
[That'll make your future journey way harder, by the way.]
John narrowed his eyes. "Then how the hell do they expect us to improve it?"
[It's pretty simple once you get it. Everybody's different, and they'll have different views on how to go about it. Just follow your gut and see where you end up.]
That's not really helpful, John thought.
He sat there for a moment, sifting through fragments of another life. High school science classes. Diagrams of atoms and energy transfer. Lectures on thermodynamics that he'd barely listened to. Then his mind drifted to the novels he'd devoured—the ones where characters purified energy by compressing it, spinning it, burning away impurities with willpower or flame.
None of that was real, though.
But maybe... the principles could be.
"So the quality of energy is the only thing that matters," John said in contemplation.
[No. Not even close.]
[The origin script isn't just a guide to help you absorb energy. Your entire foundation is built around it. Right now, it might just be a book, but once you start using it, it'll become a part of you.]
[The path to power isn't just about absorbing energy. You'll have to use that energy to do a lot of things. Like... a lot.]
[But yeah. The start is you have to actually absorb the damn stuff first.]
Okay, let's try this, he thought.
He recalled the instructions from the book and tried to follow them. He closed his eyes, focused, and tried to feel what the book described.
At first, he didn't feel anything.
Then, suddenly, a tingling sensation spread across his body—foreign, unfamiliar. Just as the book said, he started to guide the energy the same way he accessed his inner domain. The feeling traveled along that path.
Then he saw his domain change. The abyss grew darker. The purple threads pulsed. The void became colder.
[Why am I surprised?] Echo muttered internally, before saying, [Hey. Do you want someone to know what you're doing?]
John abruptly came to his senses, and everything returned to normal. He let out a sharp exhale. "What was that?"
[Oh nothing. You just absorbed some Ether, you know. Nothing amazing,] Echo replied in a sarcastic voice.
John closed his eyes and smiled. "That felt… amazing."
[Well, gaining power is always exhilarating. Though I suggest you do it alone. In case you didn't notice, there are literally people who can sense even the tiniest change in the atmosphere surrounding you. Thankfully, you only did it briefly, so I don't think anyone caught it… But you truly are hopeless, minion.]
John just rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. What would I do without you? I truly am grateful… now stop calling me a minion."
[Tsk, tsk… how ungrateful. Kids these days are just so rude.]
John let out a short chuckle at Echo's mumbling before closing his eyes and trying to enjoy these boring moments before his life became tumultuous again.
***
Meanwhile, back in the physical world, ONE watched the Ashen Blade squad with an unreadable expression.
Everyone seems to have grasped the basics. Time to move to the next stage.
As soon as he thought that, he felt a tiny shift in the atmosphere—so imperceptible it almost didn't exist.
He turned his head toward the source of the disturbance. His eyes landed on John. His face was calm and composed, just like the rest of them, but ONE was sure he felt something. He stared for a moment longer, then clapped his hands.
"Alright, everyone. That's enough."
That broke everyone from their trance. They opened their eyes and started stretching to shake off the ache from sitting too long. ONE gave them a moment before speaking.
"All of you have enough experience accessing your inner domain, so we'll move on to the next stage. As I've said before, every one of you is expected to raise the rank of your origin scripts. This isn't a one-time thing you do at the start—you'll do it gradually. The script is the guide through which you build your power, which means it's ever-changing, not fixed.
"To start absorbing energy, you need to draw in high-quality energy with low impurities. The goal is to absorb it into your inner domain, but that domain has a saturation point. Your job is to make sure that space isn't wasted.
"Now, how do you upgrade a basic script? Well, the way I did it was through the sacrifice method. In exchange for a reduced energy reserve, my quality is exceptionally high. That has its own pros and cons, but in the end, it's about choice. It worked for me, but it may not be the way for you."
He let that settle.
"Another way is your affinity. Fire, water, earth—whatever you have. Use it to refine impurities. Let your element mix with the energy and change it before it touches your domain. It takes practice, but it's cleaner than brute force."
He turned to leave, then added over his shoulder: "I suggest you all don't rush things and do something stupid. Dismissed."
As the squad dispersed, ONE's gaze lingered on John a moment longer than the others.