Chapter 225 Level 6

Quinn, when examining his own strength and weaknesses, knew that he couldn’t regenerate his wounds like Layla did, and he wasn’t as fast as Erin. The thing that was his strongest point was his strength itself, but judging by Erin’s growth, knew that it wouldn’t stay like that forever.

He considered getting turned a few times, but that came with its own risks, and meant he would lose all of his progress with the earth ability. It would effectively set him back to the start, just like how the system did to Erin.

However, qi was a different factor all together.

Although Erin had qi, Quinn couldn’t see its full potential since he didn’t know what was qi or what was her natural vampiric capabilities. The same couldn’t be said for Vorden. He was completely human, and yet, he was just as fast as a vampire.

"So you want to learn qi as well?" Leo noted as he stroked his beard, "You two haven’t let loose about the secrets of qi, have you?"

He turned to Vorden and Erin, and although he was blind, it still felt like he was ’looking’ at them.

"No, they’ve only told me so far," Quinn said, "Although it was my idea to learn qi, Erin and Vorden told me about it in case I wanted to grow stronger. I have tried learning it from them, but a master would help me better."

Leo nodded approvingly. He knew that despite Erin’s intense desire for strength, she still helped those close to her to ensure they were just as strong.

"I appreciate the compliment, boy, but the real master would’ve been my teacher," Leo said, "That being said, your drive is admirable, and I will allow myself to take on one more student. No more."

Leo then began the same process he done to Erin by swirling around a small portion of qi inside of Quinn’s body. Due to his earlier attempts at cultivating qi, visualizing the energy came naturally to him.

When he was done, Leo took a step back, and couldn’t help but feel a little nostalgic. The three in front of him reminded him of back when he lived at a dojo with his adoptive brothers and sisters.

He still remembered those peaceful days, when his master suggested he too learned qi despite his blindness, and how he gained his ability, allowing him to participate with his siblings in qi training.

Thinking about the past, there was a girl around the same age as him who was excellent with the sword, and fought like a graceful dancer would. Despite this, her temperament reminded him of Erin in a way.

Taking in a deep breath, Leo began his lesson, "You have learned how to channel qi into your bodies, but you can also do the same with your weapons, and focus your qi into them for extra power..."

—

Peter sat on his bed, holding the level 6 book in one hand, and another hand on his forehead.

"Why does he want Quinn to learn the level 6 ability so badly?" he thought out loud.

It was something he couldn’t wrap his head around when it came to Duke’s order. Clearly Duke had some sort of plan with Quinn, but if he was going to do something bad to him, then why invest in Quinn’s capabilities?

’I can’t have him learn this book, but I don’t know how to get rid of it!’

Another thought came to mind, and Peter immediately dug into his drawers for the level 3 and 4 ability books. These were given to him a long time ago, but he never got around to reading them.

’I was planning on leveling up once I came back home over the summer, but if I reach level 6 instead of Quinn, then maybe Duke won’t go after him.’

It was a long shot. Most people spent months improving their abilities with the later levels taking more time, but it wasn’t impossible to do it in under a week if you were skilled enough.

Opening up the 3rd level book, Peter began reading it. The first few pages were the techniques used to improve one’s MC, and he started following their instructions.

Sitting on his bed with his eyes closed, Peter focused on the power within. It required meditation, and he had to focus on his energy making sure it rose from the pit of his stomach to the rest of his body.

However, partway through, the energy rose only to his chest, and a burning sensation followed. It was like an intense form of heart burn.

"No— No! My MC is capped out at level 2?!" Peter tugged at his hair.

To reach his peak this early meant that there was no way for Peter to get stronger, not without substantial beast gear, but the only way he could get such a thing was if he was rich enough to afford it. He could sell his books in exchange for the beast gear he needed, but it wouldn’t be enough to purchase a decent set.

However, that was such a small problem compared to the situation with the 6th level ability book.

Pushing through the pain, Peter tried again and again to reach the 3rd level, but no matter what happened, it only served to hurt and exhaust him.

"This can’t happen again, I don’t want there to be a repeat of the portal room!"

The door opened, and Quinn and Fex entered the dorm to find a frightened Peter staring at them with horror.

"You look like you saw a ghost," Fex commented, then saw the ability books next to him.

’Did he make another deal to get that 6th level book?’ Fex thought.

"Ah! I didn’t expect you two to come back!" Peter yelped.

Fex stared at Peter, "We sleep here."

Quinn noticed one of the books was a level 6 earth ability book, and was shocked at how he was even able to get such a thing.

Usually, level 5 books and above weren’t on any public markets as most Originals opted not to make very many copies. Even when people sold their old books on the market, the military would use very powerful algorithms to buy them the moment they were on sale to ensure students would be dependant on them for power.

"... How did you get that book?" Quinn slowly asked.

Peter knew how it looked. The last time he got ability books was from completing Duke’s task, but this was different.

’Should I tell them? But what if Duke finds out?’ Peter thought, then clenched his fists, ’No, I’m not going to let Duke use me to harm my friends again.’

Peter opened his mouth, and began explaining what had happened in Duke’s office, how he was told to make sure Quinn learned the 6th ability book before the inter-base tournament.

"Are we sure this isn’t a trap?" Fex brought up, "I don’t know why he wants you to get stronger, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned from living here is that these military people can’t be trusted."

"Of course its a trap, but it’s also a way to get stronger," Quinn replied, "Think about it, ability books like these are a rare opportunity. Unless I somehow make another breakthrough in the ability, I’ll be stuck at level 5 for a long time."

Peter’s eyes widened, "Wait, Quinn, you’re not thinking of—"

"I am," Quinn said finally, "But I’m not going to do this without a plan. Chances are, Duke wants me to learn this ability book to get at Erin. She’s the one representing the first years in the inter-base tournament, but if something were to happen to her, then I will have to replace her."

"Okay, but why Erin?" Fex tilted his head, "and why the book?"

"She was targeted by Peter in the portal room, remember?" Quinn said, "and he tried to imprison her in the dungeon. He has some sort of vendetta against her. Not only that, but the inter-base tournament is when they want to show off the best of the best students they have."

The logic made sense. The inter-base tournament was a big deal as it was the one event where students of all bases came together, so it was important for social standing. Despite this, Peter couldn’t help but feel like something was going to go wrong.

"Besides, this is going to be my only opportunity to reach level 6," Quinn concluded, picking up the book, "But just in case anything happens, I’ll let Erin know about this situation, and she can inform Layla to keep an eye out."

"Are you sure about this? Won’t the military search your message history?" Peter brought up.

Quinn didn’t answer, but he smiled. Somehow, they just knew Quinn had his ways.

Fex sighed, and placed a hand on Quinn’s shoulder.

"This is either the stupidest, or smartest plan of all time."