Letting out a deep breath, Oli opened his eyes after having closed them for suns on end.
"Finally…" Stretching his body, he could still feel soreness in his muscles and aching in his ligaments and tendons.
Now standing, Oli walked over to the desk and picked up the void ring. It was easy for him to transfer its contents to his own before he stored the ring as well.
Taking out one of the sets of clothes, Oli dressed himself.
"Hmm… It"s a bit tight…" He changed into a different outfit, having the same problem.
"Wow, I guess your human form was broader and more muscular than I antic.i.p.ated," that familiar voice commented. "It"s probably thanks to the robust heritage you got from your father. He was quite the specimen, even for a gorilla."
"Very funny… Wait, you knew my father?!"
"That doesn"t matter. For now, you"ll have to wear those clothes till you guy some new ones in town. I"m sure you"ve got enough coin to cover the cost of some clothes," stated the voice.
Already accustomed to the voice"s lack of explanations, Oli disregarded the comment about his father. "Fine, then I guess they"ll do for now."
"Either way, you"ll have to break the barrier first," reminded the voice. "You may have managed to learn human metamorphosis in three moons, but will you actually be able to get through the barrier?"
"Of course! I"ve already learned those human warrior cultivation techniques, and both my earth and dark essences have broken through to the adept plane."
"Great! Then go on and break that barrier!" cheered the voice.
Nodding, Oli stored the map and the remaining manuals. He then approached the exit, getting close enough for the barrier to activate.
Once it was lit up, Oli pushed his now-human hand up against it. The corners of his lips arched up as he felt no resistance repelling him like before when he was a beast.
Though he went through grueling pain to finally take human form, the feeling of no resistance was bliss to him. He had tried it while in a human-gorilla hybrid form many times, but it always stung him with just a touch.
That moment of relief was enough to prove to him that he really had become human again. He couldn"t wait to find a mirror and see his reflection.
Happily, Oli activated his essences. Dark essence gathered around his right arm and earth essence around his left. Both hands reached up and pushed against the barrier, slowly peeling it apart.
Oli stepped forward again, making progress and gradually making his way through the krin-thick barrier.
But, just as he was about to breakthrough, the last bit of the barrier remained unmovable.
He tried everything he could. Placing both dark and earth essence on each hand had no effect. Each essence on its own also did nothing. Oli was still stuck, despite being so close to freedom.
"What"s wrong?" asked the voice, clearly recognizing Oli"s annoyed face.
"I can"t get out!" shouted Oli. "Did you lie to me?!"
"No, why do you ask? I have no reason to lie to you.""Then how come I can"t get out? I"ve already broken through to the adept plane and I"ve learned everything that you"ve asked me to learn. How come I can"t break free?"
"But I"ve already told you why… You have to advance all of your essence types to at least the adept plane."
"But I--"
"Haven"t done that," stated the voice. "You forgot your most powerful essence, so how could you manage to breakthrough without that?"
Oli"s face stiffened. "My… most powerful essence? What do you--"
"Come one, Oli. You already know that I spied on you in your private cultivation room. You should"ve already realized that I"ve seen you using gravity essence," stated the voice in a matter-of-fact way.
"I don"t understand you. For things like cultivation, you"re incredibly fast, yet you"re so slow to figure out something so obvious," the voice sighed.
"Hey, that"s supposed to be my greatest secret?! Why would I a.s.sume that you already know that?" reasoned Oli.
"I thought your greatest secret was that you were some strange reincarnate that still knew nothing about cultivation," laughed the voice, putting a frown on Oli"s face. "Either way, you"ll have to get your gravity essence up to the adept plane before you get out."
"What?! Do you know how long that will take?!"
"Apparently not, considering you managed to take a human form so quickly," stated the voice. "To pull that off, you must have some kind of external aid. Were you stupid enough to bond your father"s soul jade with your mortal core?"
"HUH?!"
"Stop acting so surprised. If you show such a reaction, people will be able to read you like an open book. And that"s just asking for others to take advantage of you and figure out your secrets," reasoned the voice. "But to think you were ignorant enough to do that, and lucky enough to pull it off while also mutating your core… You"re a daredevil in terms of cultivation, kid."
"How do you know about my soul jade?!" Oli"s yell echoed in the cave as he looked everywhere with angry eyes, trying to find the man yet again.
"I already told you, I"ve met your dad before. I knew about his soul jade long before you were ever born," chuckled the man. "Anyway, shouldn"t you get back to cultivating?"
"Uhh…" Unhappy, Oli stomped back to the formation.
It was clear to him that getting his gravity essence to the adept plane would take him even longer than it took to master human transformation.
With a long sigh, Oli closed his eyes and started meditating.
"Oh, by the way," added the voice. "I should warn you about that gravity essence. While in Trighton, you don"t have to worry about having both dark and earth essence as a human, but you should never reveal or use your gravity essence in front of anyone."
"Then why are you having me cultivate it?" griped Oli.
"Weren"t you the one who wanted to eventually learn to control it?" retorted the voice. "Just know that you should use it, ever. Unless it"s a life-and-death situation, don"t even consider it. And even then, just consider it because even then you might regret it."
Startled by the sudden seriousness, Oli took the thought to heart.
"Anyways, I"ve got to get going. I"ve been keeping you company for long enough."
"Wait, what if I can"t get out of here, even after I advance my gravity essence?!"
"You"ll get out, eventually. Just keep cultivating and one day you"ll make your way out of the cave," reasoned the voice. "And don"t bother returning home right away. While you"re here, you should try to learn human magic. People will think your crazy since you"re naturally gifted as a warrior, but you have no reason to regress and learn the way of warriors. Push to learn magic and formations. That"s what you want."
"Um… Thanks… I guess…"
"Oh? Are you finally thanking me for saving you from forced slavery and servitude? Or am I just hearing things?" joked the voice.
"Thanks for the help…"
"Good! Now I"ll consider sticking around to watch you grow even further."
"Who are you, exactly?" asked Oli, not wanting to miss his only chance to possibly learn the mystery man"s ident.i.ty.
"Me? I"m just a betting man, and sometimes I like to fix the odds in my favor." Laughter sounded out as Oli felt a hand appear on his shoulder. "Good luck! You"ll need it till we see each other again…"
It was only a glimpse, but Oli saw the man"s hand for a moment. Surprisingly, that supposedly powerful man hand a scar on his wrist, looking like a handprint from someone grabbing him.
And before that hand disappeared, a rush of vitality flooded Oli"s sore body, relieving all of his physical stress and pain.
With the mystery man gone, Oli was left to think for himself. He wasn"t sure what he should or shouldn"t do, or if he should believe that mystery man was a friend or a foe.
Though he was happy to not be a slave, he was still pulled away from home and forced into this new situation.
It was a help but also a burden, and Oli hadn"t yet decided whether he should take the man"s advice or not.
One thing was for sure, though, he was going to spend much more time in the cave until he finally managed to get out.
Finally giving in to the reality he was forced into, Oli again started to cultivate. This time he focused on his silver essence with his mind diving into his soul jade to save him time.
As Oli became fully focused and absorbed in cultivation, a silhouette appeared just outside of the aiding formation.
The mysterious man pulled off his hood, showing himself to Oli, who had no clue the man was still there. "I can"t wait until you see me next time. I"m sure you"ll put on a great show, even better than your father did. And… I still can"t believe that crazy guy was right…"