29 Cultivating in my sleep...

'Mana fluctuations?'

Andrew turned to where Cage went off to earlier. He wasn't particularly concerned because there had been mana fluctuations for a while. It was rhythmic in nature. If it were combat, it wouldn't be like a pattern and would be erratic and random.

Continuing with his tasks, he kept picking the boom-fruits. While they could explode if not handled properly, all you needed to do was not drop them. They had a lot of uses, so Andrew wasn't surprised they were picking them.

They were often used in alchemy or as weaponry due to their explosive nature.

'One can never have too many explosives...'

Andrew continuously sensed mana fluctuations until the pattern broke after some time.

'Is he done with it already?'

Andrew looked back in Cage's direction; he had a sense of uneasiness that unsettled him.

Deciding to check, Andrew used a no-attribute skill to scan the mana density in the surrounding area to see if anything was amiss.

[Mana Map!]

There was a total of 51 mana signatures. One was very strong. Going off of the mana density, it should be Zaria. Another was Stage Two and was Andrew himself. The last two that stuck out were a Stage One standing very close to a Stage Two.

'That's from Cage's direction!'

Andrew quickly placed his basket, which had 97 boom-fruits, and hurried over to Cage's location. It would take him less than a minute to get there using his full speed.

[Wind Aura!]

Whoosh!

Like a gust of wind, he rushed over to Cage's location. The obsidian-like trees became blurs of black as he passed by.

After what seemed like an eternity, he finally reached the clearing. Cage was engaged in intense combat with a quilled wolf where a single misstep could mean the end of his life.

Cage was riddled with needles and had blood seeping out of his wounds. His movements also seemed more sluggish than usual. 'Is that poison! Does that mean it's a mutant?!?'

Cage was in much worse of a condition than the beast was. In fact, it didn't even seem like the beast was hurt at all!

Mutants were incredibly strong. Comparing a mutant to a standard variant was like comparing a stone to steel.

Cage got pinned down by the beast and closed his eyes after trying to force it off. It seemed like he had given up and resigned to his fate.

Andrew was about to jump out and help, but a slender arm appeared in front of him. Turning to the owner of the arm, Zaria was there. She shook her head and said, "This is a trial he must overcome..."

Andrew could only clench his fists.

Boom!

An eruption of mana emerged from Cage. All Andrew saw was a blur moving fast that had then pierced the beast clean through.

-=-=-

Gasp!

Cage shot up in alarm.

'I was fighting that beats! where did it-!'

Looking around, Cage realized he was in the stone room he and Andrew had carved out. He last remembered that the quilled beast pinned him down; everything else was fuzzy.

'Did I get saved? Ah, wait! Wasn't I injured!'

Cage lifted his shirt, looked down at his chest, and let out a sigh of relief. Apart from some scars, he had fully healed.

Cage stood up and stretched. Leaving the room, he found Andrew talking with Zaria outside.

Upon seeing Cage up and about, the two dropped the conversation, and Andrew greeted him.

"Looks like someone decided to wake up. I had a healer come by earlier, in case you're wondering. I need to talk to the commander. Remember not to be late tomorrow~" After giving a mischievous smile, Zaria waved goodbye and left.

Cage watched Zaria get out of sight. Cage turned to Andrew and tilted his head, "What were you two talking about?"

Andrew shook his head and brushed off the question, "Nothing important. Anyways, what was that skill you used on that quilled wolf? To be able to pierce the skin of a Stage Two mutant with your bare hand, Incredible!"

Cage scrunched up his face. "Did I? I don't remember if I did that..."

Cage went to his soul-scape and inspected his soul and the rune formations on it. He was slightly surprised. He did indeed have one more skill than before.

"I guess I do have one more skill than before; it's strange that I don't remember anything though." Turning to Andrew again, he asked, "Can I test it?"

Andrew gestured to go ahead and stepped back.

Cage nodded and picked up a stray stone on the floor that was about the size of his fist.

He took a deep breath.

[Resonation!]

The rock began to shake while turning to dust as cracks webbed across its surface. In less than a second, it shattered and exploded violently.

Cage quickly responded by raising an arm to shield his eyes.

Both Cage and Andrew's eyes opened wide.

The destructive power the skill possessed was enough even to make a Stage Three existence sweat a little.

'Is this really the skill I was working on? And according to Andrew, I used the skill to pierce the beast I was fighting with my bare hand?!'

Cage couldn't help but wonder what would happen if he used it on a larger scale or even overcharged it! The destruction would be massive!

A part of Cage wanted to use the overcharged version out of sheer curiosity, but the logical part of him told him otherwise. It wouldn't be a good idea to destroy things willy-nilly.

Because he was the one that made the skill, he naturally knew that it still had many hidden uses beyond destruction. He had only scratched the surface.

Cage hoped that tomorrow would bring more battles. He desperately needed combat experience. Even the most powerful weapon in existence would be no better than a fancy ornament in the hands of someone inexperienced.

Andrew began walking back to their room. "I'll have to show you my new skill tomorrow; it will definitely blow you away..."

Awakening from being lost in thought, Cage nodded then followed after him.

After cultivating for around an hour, he was about to go to sleep but suddenly thought, 'Why can't I cultivate during the night as well? It's not like I'm actively thinking to cultivate.'

The reason why people need sleep is to allow the body and mind to recharge. While cultivating, he is not moving, and his brain activity is no different than if he were to dream. With that in mind, why couldn't he cultivate and be more productive? He decided to test it.

His mind drifted off as he let himself become as inactive as a rock.

-=-=-

Cage awoke from his trance-like state. He inspected his body to find that he felt as refreshed as usual. Scratch that; he felt even better than he usually would. It was like every cell in his body was energized to its fullest.

Checking his soul, he found that he had made significant progress. He was overjoyed! Now, he could keep progressing without having to choose between cultivating or working on his skills!

'I guess I'm so good at cultivating that I can do it in my sleep! HAHAHA!'

Arriving at the Eastern Gate, Cage sighed. He was back to Quadrant Seven. While he didn't particularly mind, the threat of the crawlers was no small matter. Just the other day, one of the other groups was attacked and suffered several casualties. The team leader of that group was even injured!

While Quadrant Seven was very dangerous, Cage wasn't too worried. With a new skill in his arsenal that was capable of piercing something not even a blade could pierce, he was confident he could protect himself.

He was confident but wasn't arrogant. He was well aware some things could kill him just from simply breathing on him. As long as he didn't encounter any Stage Three's or any large swarms, he would probably be able to come out on top.

After grabbing the standard set of tools, Cage followed the others into the depths of Quadrant Seven.

Clink!

Clink!

Clink!

The sound of pickaxes striking stone could be heard in the imminent area. He was beginning to find the ambiance soothing. Thinking back to what he discovered earlier, Cage didn't know if cultivating while sleeping was normal. It would be problematic if what he did caused an uproar, so he decided to go with the safer option.

"Andrew, is it possible to cultivate while you sleep?" asked Cage.

"Eh??" Andrew was momentarily stunned and almost hit his foot with the pickaxe.

"Where did you ever find out about that?! Cultivating in your sleep is an advanced technique that can take years to master!"

Andrew pinched the bridge of his nose, "Don't tell me you already learned how to do that..."

Averting his eyes, Cage nervously laughed and said, "... maybe? I may or may not have discovered it last night... and I may or may not have only thought about it last night..."

Andrew just shook his head, "You know what, this isn't even surprising anymore. If I keep getting surprised, I'll die of shock in the future..."

They both returned to their work.

Soon after, Cage had finished with his quota. He moved some ways away, then began to cultivate in silence.

Scuttle scuttle.

'What's that noise?'

Scuttle scuttle scuttle.

'Is that footsteps? No, It's too frequent. Then what-'

Cage looked up.

It was reminiscent of a scene four and a half years ago but somehow worse.

Thousands of beady little red eyes peered from the darkness. Worse yet, there was one set that gave off an indescribable sense of pressure. He had only ever something remotely similar once before when he was first born into this world.

A smile crept up on his face. 'It seems like I'll be in for quite a fight. I really should thank the heavens for granting my wish...'