1027 A Year And A Half In Seclusion (part 2)

About a month after Jake had immersed himself in the creation of various Cubes and Aether Cores, he was finally visited by his mentor, Cekt, who promised to offer direct aid in his training. To Jake, a month had elapsed, but for the alien, barely more than an hour had passed since their last encounter.

"Ugh? I see what you're attempting here, but these Grade 9 Aether Cores are useless if you can't wield them without risking your own safety," the small alien commented, floating just behind Jake's ear.

With an alertness hardened by the ever-present threat of the Dungeon Digestor, Jake remained stoic, simply nodding in acknowledgment of his mentor's words.

"I'd like to configure them to draw their Aether from another source like my Energy Body, but so far, the results have been disappointing," Jake admitted, his voice devoid of joy but far from defeated.