Growing the tree wasn’t complicated. Following Rao Wu’s instruction, Lu Lin took out a pair of seeds and then planted them in the earth. Afterward, she bent down and channeled life energy into the seeds.

“Whoa. Really?” Akeme looked in wonder as a little sprout broke out of the ground moments later. The sprout, buoyed by Lu Lin’s blessing, grew at a fast, visible rate. Within a few minutes, the little shoot germinated into a giant tree over sixty meters long.

“Go!” Denuchi and Rao Wu quickly climbed the tree and then settled on the highest branch. Down below, an exhausted Lu Lin collapsed into Ramy’s arms, severely fatigued by the immense energy expense.

Rao Wu gave Lu Lin an apologetic gaze, but then shouted when he noticed the trees’ leaves rapidly turning brown. “Quick! Cut it down before it decays!”

“Tear it!” Ramy ordered her Eight-Calamities Spider to cut the tree trunk with its sharp legs. Swip! The Eight-Calamities Spider revealed its deadliness when it sliced through the thick bark with one sweep of its claw. However, to ensure the tree fell the right way, the Eight-Calamities spider bumped against the loose trunk, sending it crashing toward the castle wall.

Rao Wu clung onto the trunk as it fell over the moat. “Nngh!” The child grunted when a powerful force pressed down on his back, dragging him towards the ocean. Fortunately, the trunk was beneath him, so he harmlessly pressed against the trunk while waiting for the sensation to pass.

“Watch out!”

Rao Wu instinctively felt danger, further reinforced by Denuchi’s shout. Rao Wu relaxed his grip without thinking, allowing himself to slide a few meters down the tree trunk.

Crunch!

“What the!?” Rao Wu stared in shock at the giant Void Shark that shattered the tree trunk where he had just been. “They can jump this high!?” Rao Wu shelved his concern and, instead, tightly gripped the trunk. Just as well, because he soon experienced a powerful gravitational pull that threatened to drag him toward the waiting shark.

Fortunately, Rao Wu and Denuchi only needed to endure the torment for a brief second before the Void Shark fell into the moat. The Void Shark would have liked to have another go, but the trunk’s gravity-accelerated descent caused Rao Wu to complete his journey just as it landed.

Kathunk!

Rao Wu and Denuchi quickly jumped off the tree once it struck the castle’s battlements. Denuchi shook his head as the tree rapidly decayed to dust and then led Rao Wu to the security room.

Upon reaching the security room, Denuchi took Rao Wu to a console and then had the youth pull down two identical levers with him.

Crank! Du…

Denuchi frowned when the drawbridge refused to respond even after numerous pulls. “There’s no power. We have to do this manually.” Having reached a decision, Denuchi led Rao Wu out of the control room, to the open courtyard below.

The courtyard showed glimpses of its former purpose with several abandoned or broken mannequins and pens for training soul pets. Denuchi ignored the sights as he made his way to the courtyard’s entrance, where two large wheels opposite each other controlled the fort’s only access point.

Following Denuchi’s lead, Rao Wu displayed incredible strength as he turned a wheel designed for grown soldiers with relative ease. With the duo working in tandem, they raised the iron gates, and then lowered the drawbridge.

Rao Wu immediately noticed something peculiar about this drawbridge. The bridge had a pair of high metal walls on either side, presumably to deter the void sharks from jumping to their death. No wonder it took two people to pull up or drop the drawbridge. Even with innovative pulley systems, those metal walls were hefty.

“Hey! Hey! You guys actually did it!” Akeme called out with a pleasant smile as he crossed the bridge with the rest of the party. “For a second there, I didn’t think you would make—” BANG! “—The Fuck!?” Akeme jumped and swiftly pulled out a pair of short swords.

“Relax, chicken,” teased Ramy as she softly knocked on the wall. “Its just the Void Sharks testing for a way in.” With those words, she chuckled and then walked past the embarrassed Akeme. She then handed the exhausted Lu Lin to Rao Wu, who returned gratefully returned her to the soul space.

*cough* *cough* Akeme spluttered as he cleared his throat. “Right. No. It’s not what it looks like. I—" His shifty eyes lit up when he saw Rao Wu. “—yeah, that’s right. I was just teaching the kid to always remain vigilant.” Sheathing his swords, Akeme revealed a solemn gaze as he approached Rao Wu. “And, that, kid, is how you should react when you sense danger. Weapons out, feet apart, and your back, preferably to a place you couldn’t get attacked from.”

Rao Wu knew Akeme’s game but chose not to expose him. “Thanks, Akeme. I’ll remember that.”

“Nn.” Akeme ignored Ramy derisory snort as he walked into the courtyard to examine the fortress.

When everyone had passed, Rao Wu and Denuchi closed the gates and then began inspecting the fort.

“As expected, it’s in pretty bad shape,” said Akeme as they walked past broken furniture and an empty armory room. “They must have cleaned out the armory before leaving.” Akeme returned to the control room with the others. After tapping on a few consoles and inspecting other appliances, he shook his head. “The equipment look like they should still work. It’s the power that’s dead. Let’s check the generator room.”

Akeme led everyone to a dark room on the courtyard’s ground level. Inside, Rao Wu saw two cube-like machines sitting side by side. Before Rao Wu could ask, Akeme answered, “This one is a generator. We use it to generate electricity used to power all electrical appliances like that drawbridge.”

Akeme opened a panel on the generator and withdrew a pair of clear cylindrical tubes. “Our generators run on Core Batteries, which is where the second machine comes in.” Akeme opened a similar panel on the smaller machine and fitted the empty core batteries inside. He then opened a panel on the opposite side and then held out his hand.

Ramy took out a few cores from her bag and then handed it to Akeme.

Akeme continued his explanation as he put the cores in a chamber until it was filled to a marked level. “This second machine is called a core battery charger, but everyone calls it CC.” Akeme closed the panel and then pressed a button. Du-Du-Du-Zzzzz, As the core charger buzzed to life with a low hum, Akeme finished, “The charger converts monster cores into a powerful energy source we call Prana. Prana is very dangerous in its raw state, so we have to use core batteries to store them for use.”

Akeme paused his explanation when he saw Rao Wu’s glazed eyes. The child was totally lost! To be honest, Akeme lost Rao Wu from the first mention of electricity. The child only hung on by connecting dots to make sense of Akeme’s lecture.

Realizing his folly, Akeme scratched his ears and then apologetically said, “Sorry ‘bout that. Should’ve realized that was too much info. Don’t worry. I’ll slowly explain it over the next few days if you’re interested.”

“Yes!” Rao Wu recalled how lost he’d been when he visited the big city. He never wanted to feel that ignorant again.

Akeme chuckled and then looked over as the machine’s light turned from amber to green. “Oh. Look at that. It’s done.” Akeme retrieved the core batteries, which now had an ethereal blue glow within, then put them in the generator.

Akeme pressed the on-switch and then smiled as the generator sputtered to life. “And… Let there be light.”

Woong.

“Whoa.” Rao Wu marveled as several bulbs sprang to life around the compound.

Denuchi nodded when he saw the lights come on. “It’s decided. We’re staying here. Rao Wu. You and Raba stay here to clean up. The rest of us will go to the meeting place to get the remaining last two squads.”

Raba was the last member of Denuchi’s party. The fox-hybrid was the silent, gloomy type. He barely spoke and seemed to blend into the background at all times. However, the youth’s Burrow Mole-Rat was certainly not inconspicuous.

Raba held out his hand toward Rao Wu, and then said in a low voice, “Pleased to work with you.”

Rao Wu looked at the outstretched hand in confusion. What was he supposed to do with that? Fortunately, Akeme quickly explained a handshake before Raba assumed Rao Wu deliberately ignored him. Having his confusion cleared up, Rao Wu laughed and then happily took Raba’s hand. “Hehe, my bad, Raba. Please take care of me. I literally don’t have the slightest clue about cleaning.”

Raba gave the bloody Rao Wu a once-over and then nodded. “Of that, I have no doubt.”

Akeme palmed his face, while Ramy and Olek struggled to hide their laughter.

In the end, Denuchi had to step in and explain to the stunned Rao Wu, “Don’t mind Raba. He’s harmless but doesn’t have a filter. Don’t take his words to heart, and you’ll be fine.”

With that squared away, Denuchi, Akeme, Ramy, and Olek left to gather the other squads while Rao Wu and Raba stayed on clean-up duty.

Initially, Rao Wu was pensive about doing clean-up with the reticent Raba; however, Raba washed away those worries within a few minutes.

Raba was not the most talkative person, but he was extremely diligent in work and training. As a result, he patiently taught Rao Wu how to use a broom and dustpan, and did not get angry when Rao Wu failed even its simplest tasks.

Rao Wu soon understood why Denuchi left him with Raba. In a way, Denuchi was continuing his lesson on the importance of team cohesion. Every team member was useful, even if they did not appear that way at first glance. Akeme and Ramy were excellent at socializing with recruits, but neither had the patience to teach.

Raba’s diligent attitude would rub off on recruits, letting them know they had a place as long as they were willing to do the demanding tasks.

Rao Wu was certainly no quitter. After a couple of minutes to an hour to familiarize himself with the chores, he began cleaning with grim determination. He ensured every floor was spotless, choked as he dusted bedsheets, and learned how to wash multiple fabrics by stomping them in a large bucket.

Fortunately, the fort had internal plumbing rigged to the moat, so water was not a problem.

Unfortunately, even with Raba and Rao Wu’s efforts, they couldn’t complete the job by the time the rest of the squad returned at nightfall. Thankfully, though, they did manage to clean out two bedrooms for the team, while Raba served a meal he prepared in the kitchen.

The tired squad gathered in the mess hall and wolfed down their meals. Afterward, with Denuchi’s permission, they retired to the bedrooms, with men taking one while the women took the other.

After a long day of hard, back-breaking work, Rao Wu was just as, if not more tired than the rest of the squad. The youth gratefully passed out on a futon, falling into a deep sleep, which even Akeme’s smelly feet could not wring him out of.

Tomorrow, the squad would begin preparations for real.

But tonight; tonight they rested…