Azrael sat at the dinner table, and everything was more stranger than before, Julius was still displeased with him, and the Duke did not mention the incident. There was one more person who had been awfully quiet this whole time. It was Duchess Elyndra. All this while, when others were expressing concern for him, she was the person who should have been the most affected, but there was no reaction from her.
There were many reasons why Azrael had performed the Abandonment in such an high-profile manner. The main reason was to spread the word. The other was to get any sort of reaction from his "fake" mother. He had been expecting anything, whether it was anger, sadness or even support—but it was still the usual stoic face with a smile that is perfectly symmetrical in an unsettling way.
Azrael finished his dinner, and seeing that no one wanted to talk, he quietly walked back to his room.
********
In Azrael's room,
Master White materialized and took over the body; it was time for their next plan of action. The showmanship was done now, and Azrael had made a great impact with his actions. With this they had a reputation now, which could be used for their benefit in the right circumstances.
"We are finally done with the acting." Azrael commented in his materialized form.
Master White simply nodded and didn't say much, as there were still some questions unanswered. The most concerning one was Elyndra's behaviour, and a new question that had been troubling them since yesterday was Azrael's name coming up on the suspect list, they needed to understand what they had missed. So as to not make the same mistake again.
Azrael, understanding what Master White was thinking, said, "Don't worry, we are finally free now; it's only a matter of time before we discover what is going on in the shadows. And about our name appearing on the suspect list, the Duke said it's been ruled out. So, we are not on anyone's radar for the time being. Although we have poked everyone's curiosity with our little stunt, which is going to be troublesome."
"Alright, let's focus on the immediate things now." Master White agreed.
"System." He called out.
[Yes, Master White.]
"How should I start cultivating?"
[Cultivation in each layer varies drastically. Therefore, we will only focus on Layer-1.]
Both of them nodded at the System's words.
[In Layer-1 you cultivate by forming cores. You have first assimilated blood; Hence, you will form the Blood Core first.]
[Then, when you undergo visceral transformation, you will form the visceral core. You need to form two more cores of the respective realms to completely Metamorphosis, reaching the peak of Layer-1.]
"So, how is a core formed?"
[A core is formed by circulating "Enos" from the outside world to the inside of your body. In simple words, core is just a storage of energy, but core's also store specific components of the assimilated item.]
[The very essence of the blood you assimilated and the energy "Enos" together form the Blood core.]
Both Azrael and Master White, took some time understanding everything that the system explained about cores. After a while, they asked how to intake the energy from the outside world.
[First, sit in a lotus position and close your eyes.]
Master White, who was in control of the body, followed the instructions.
[You will need to feel the particles suspended in empty space. These are particles of energy, or of Enos. They can only be felt by the sense of touch and not by any other senses.]
Azrael was lying on the couch, looking at the process of how Master White was doing it, because he would have to cultivate when he was in control of the body.
Master White sat there for minutes, and there was no movement. Suddenly, the atmosphere around his body started to change. There was something that stirred the winds, and it started flowing in abnormal directions, messing up the room. Seeing the scene, the system continued.
[After feeling Enos, try to guide it around your body following the natural capillaries pathway. When the energy passes through them, it will eventually root out the integrated blood essence, resulting in the formation of the core.]
Master White did as he was told and started guiding the energy. He felt Enos flowing through his body; it started from his heart and circulated all over. A little later, the energy started accumulating just above his abdomen, and it formed a projection of a circular core. It was not fully condensed yet, but this was the beginning.
He cultivated for five hours without taking a rest. When he opened his eyes, Azrael was looking at him expectantly. Master White understood what he wanted and gave the body to him. Then, Azrael started cultivating and a new session began.
This was also one of the perks of having a dual personality like Azrael. Cultivation is essentially the manipulation or exchange of energy; it is a reaction which happens between the body and the outside world. Naturally, there is also a loss of energy which occurs in the form of mental exhaustion; one needs to recover a little bit before cultivating again.
In the case of Azrael, as he had dual personalities, only one part of his brain was focused in that particular session of cultivation and when he switched personalities, the other part of his brain started operating. You can even see it as the right and left hemispheres of the brain functioning separately. Due to this reason, he could cultivate double the time, until both of them were exhausted.
If they were to go crazy and start cultivating without any consideration, they could do it non-stop, as one would recover while the other was cultivating. But this is not possible for everyone who has dual personalities. Azrael had one more thing that no one else in reality has: an ultimate item, The veil.
The veil made it possible for both of Azrael's personalities to operate individually. So, in theory he could cultivate endlessly, but only in theory, as practically that was impossible.
Azrael cultivated at the same pace as Master White and also stopped after five hours. They looked at each other with a smile, satisfied by their progress. After cultivating for the first time, they were feeling extremely hungry. So they ordered the maid to bring them food.
After eating, they immediately went to sleep, as from tomorrow onwards, they would adapt to a new lifestyle.
Azrael had planned to spend the entire next year cultivating without even stepping out of his room, except on rare occasions. He wanted to solidify his image as an ascetic cultivator. He didn't care whether people thought highly of him for abstaining from material desires; he only wanted them to understand this ascetic persona that he had built, so that he could influence or manipulate their thoughts in his favour.
He followed a simple routine: he would have an early breakfast and start cultivating, which will continue until late in the evening. He would skip the afternoon meal and directly have dinner; after dinner, he would cultivate for a few hours and then sleep. This continued for three months, and as he got better at manipulating Enos, he stopped having meals every day. He could substitute a little amount of energy to satisfy his bodily needs.
Many people in the Castle started talking about how they hadn't seen Azrael for weeks, and that he only came out once or twice every month. The rest of the time, he was only cultivating as he had claimed, proving that he hadn't spoken empty words during the ritual.
***********
One year later,
Azrael was sitting on the floor of his room in a lotus position; Master White was by his side, looking at him in anticipation. Suddenly, Azrael started floating just a little above the ground, and a Blood-red sphere with multiple lights reflecting on its surface manifested outside his body in the lower abdomen area. It stayed like that for a few minutes, then it was absorbed back into the body.
Azrael slowly opened his eyes and said with satisfaction,
"It's done."
Master White nodded back, sharing the excitement in Azrael's eyes. Today, they were finally able to fully condense the Blood Core, making them reach the peak of The First Realm: Blood revitalization.
Azrael called out, "system!"
[Name - Azrael Vaeloreth (Master White)]
[Age - 17]
[Existence - Beginner Layer-1]
[Realm - Blood revitalization]
[Rank - High]
[Battle power (Restrained) - 8000 (500) ]
[Soul power - 0]
[Law (incomplete) - Life and death]
[Affinities - Fire, water, earth, wind, metal...]
[Passive abilities : Super strength, Energy circulation, poison immunity, curse immunity, Elemental overlord...]
[Active ability : Force manipulation, Energy manipulation.]
[Items - The veil(ultimate), Bracelet of restraint(Layer-1).]
[System store] (unlocked)
[Legacies] (locked)
They could finally rest after a long year of hard work, and both of them were also excited seeing the rise in their rank and the increase of their battle power.
Master White took over the body as Azrael didn't want to feel the exhaustion. They both walked to the balcony and looked at the bustling and glittering capital city with expectations in their eyes. At last, they could officially call themselves cultivators and were not just beginners anymore.
"So, we are moving in the next few days, right?" Azrael asked.
"Yes. It has already taken this long; we have many things to learn, understand, and experience in this new world. And all of that will start with our first destination : The Sylvaran Woods."