Ruins; the ancient structures left behind by a civilisation that vastly predates our own. They range form simple ruined buildings to vast cities that look almost as pristine as they must have thousands of years ago. These ruins nearly always contain something of value, such as ancient weapons or Martial techniques but if they do they also contain great danger ranging from simple traps to monstrous Beasts that now call these ruins their home.

-Excerpt from Telram’s notes on the world of Nerrus.

“Finally!” Telram shouted.

It had been over a year since he had first come up with the idea of creating tiny Mana Cores inside of his red blood cells which would passively strengthen his body by adding tiny amounts of Mana to each of his cells. Naturally he had discovered an obvious problem with this idea early on namely the sheer number of blood cells that he had which was far more than he could be bothered to count and what’s more they were constantly being replaced by new ones. Luckily for Telram, Gerry had inadvertently provided him with a solution when he started training Telram in making inscriptions.

The solution had been that Telram would have to inscribe his own Mana Core to make it create these tiny Mana Cores on it’s own, it had been both a painstaking and occasionally just a painful process to do this but now he could safely say that the first part of his body strengthening technique was complete, it had taken him months before he had even trusted himself enough to attempt to inscribe his own Mana and he was certain that if Gerry had known what he was doing he would have stopped training Telram out of fear of him hurting himself.

But finally the majority of the red blood cells in his body contained tiny Mana Cores similar to what he had found in Willa’s own blood cells and he could start to connect a series of structures that he had made to help replace the Mana his body absorbed from the blood cells that he had decided to call meridians up to the arteries that flowed past his Mana Core, he had to be very careful with the fragile structures which he had made using a similar technique to creating a Mana Core. But he could finally do it without having to worry about damaging his body by allowing Mana to flow through his bloodstream without something to control where it ended up.

Carefully manoeuvring the slender tubes with his spiritual body, he connected them to arteries he had chosen before removing the small wall he had put in the other end, allowing Mana to flow through them from his Mana Core for the first time. He breathed a sigh of relief, everything here was working as it should, the Mana was flowing safely through the meridians and into the tiny Mana Cores as the blood cells passed, now he just had to make sure that the Mana was released correctly as the cells passed through his bloodstream.

A short time after Telram opened his eyes with a wide smile on his face, everything seemed to be working as he had planned although the prickling sensation caused by the Mana beginning to break down and rebuild his cells was irritating there wasn’t a lot he could do about it and it should go away as his body got used to what was happening, now he only had to wait for there to be a noticeable difference and all his hard work will have been worth it.

“Well, I’d better go and see dad,” he said getting up off his bed. “He wants to see how my understanding of Graceful Mist Steps is progressing.”

Graceful Mist Steps was an interesting and above all useful Martial Skill, like most movement Skills it could be used instead of a Martial Art’s standard footwork allowing the Martial Art to become much more versatile, for example it changed Solid Fist from something along the lines of an infighter’s style to an out fighter’s style, now this wasn’t actually a change that Telram was all that fond of using but the change to his Flowing Palm Martial Art was much more useful, to say nothing of his Ferocious Beast Claws Martial Art which almost seemed made for using alongside Graceful Mist Step.

Telram frowned slightly as he reminded himself to give his father some of his notes on Ferocious Beast Claws, he felt that while Flowing Palm was a good Martial Art, Ferocious Beast Claws would suit his father better, however Telram still hadn’t quite mastered the use of Ferocious Beast Claws as it was far more complicated than either of his other two Martial Arts combined so it would probably have to wait, just in case his current notes turned out to be full of mistakes.

As he walked outside into the small yard that was mostly used by his father for training, Aran called out to his son.

“Good morning, so, are you ready?”

Telram nodded as his father began a series of stretches to loosen up, “You’ve been keeping up with your morning running this whole time, so I expect that you’ve made quite a lot of progress,” Aran said with an excited grin.

“Let’s see what you’ve learned!”

Without any further warning Aran seemed to teleport a small distance appearing in front of Telram with his arm held up high, about to bring his open palm crashing down in a technique that Telram recognised form Flowing Palm called Waterfall Crashes Down. Waterfall Crashes Down was a dangerous technique that would slam an unprepared enemies’ skull into the ground with the force of a waterfall.

Telram quickly used Graceful Mist Step to evade the attack and just in time as Aran’s body bent as he used every muscle in his body to send his outstretched hand crashing down onto the stone blocks that lined the yard with enough force to crack them.

Telram froze in shock as he saw the effects that Flowing Palm could have when someone had both mastered its use and reached the Ascendant Realm. Aran noticed this and frowned slightly, he knew that Telram didn’t really have any battle experience other than fighting the puppet that Gerry had given him but freezing like that would spell the end of him if he wasn’t careful.

“Telram!” Aran shouted causing the boy to jump in surprise. “What are you doing!? If this was a real fight it would already be over!”

A guilty expression flashed over Telram’s face as he realised Aran was right, he just hadn’t been expecting his father to use that much strength against him on the first blow. But then his eyes widened slightly as he realised something else, his father had telegraphed that move just enough that Telram would be able to dodge it with Graceful Mist Step, Aran had just wanted to see how he would react, and he had frozen completely.

“Sorry dad,” he said sadly.

Aran sighed, maybe he had been too hard on the boy, “It’s alright son, but if you’re going to be a cultivator you need to get used to that sort of thing fast or you’re going to die and none of us want to see that.”

Telram nodded and took a stance, his arms wide and his fingers slightly flexed.

“I’m ready now,” he said in a steady voice.

Aran smiled as he saw the serious expression on his son’s face and settled into a stance of his own, “Alright then, let’s try this again.”

The two stood there briefly looking for openings in the others stance before attacking, Aran blurred forwards his hands flickering outwards at Telram who bent backwards to escape the attack before slashing at his fathers’ arms with his fingers ripping into the tough flesh that covered them.

“Shit!” Aran yelped in pain at the unexpected attack as he pulled his arms back to stare at them briefly before looking at his son with new eyes.

“Well that’s new,” he remarked, this was the first time he had seen Ferocious Beast Claws but he was impressed that the attack had managed to injure him, even if he was holding back quite a bit, he quickly checked Telram’s Mana Core and hissed in shock as he saw that his son had already formed the third layer of his Mana Core, something that had taken him over three years since first starting cultivating to achieve, it wasn’t as fast as someone with access to a lot of resources could achieve but it was still impressive considering that he had refused Gerry’s offer of resources.

Telram knew that using too many resources early on could have a detrimental effect on a cultivators body as it would be unprepared to handle the strain of using more powerful Martial Skills, n ow that he had completed the first parts of his body strengthening technique it was a slightly different story but he was still wary of using what were essentially this worlds version of steroids to get stronger.

Aran grinned at his son who was watching him warily, it was time to up the pace.

Palms slapped against exposed flesh as Aran increased the pressure he was putting on his son who was still managing to dodge a few of the attacks as well as get in a few strikes of his own however now that Aran knew about Telram’s new trick he was protecting himself with his Spirit Barrier, which was a technique that cultivators in the Ascendant Realm could use to protect their bodies from attacks by covering their body in a combination of Soul Energy and Elemental Mana. Unfortunately, due to the need to be able to use Elemental Mana this wasn’t a technique that Telram could use himself, not that he begrudged his father the extra protection, he had regretted the injuries he had caused to Aran’s arms, or at least he had briefly.

Suddenly Aran stopped attacking and stepped back out of Telram’s reach, “That’s enough, I know how well you’ve learned to use my Graceful Mist Step.”

Telram looked at his father expectantly, “And? What did you think?”

“You’ve gotten used to using it,” his father replied thoughtfully. “But you haven’t quite grasped the essence of Graceful Mist Steps.”

“The essence of Graceful Mist Steps?’ Telram asked in confusion.

“It might be my fault,” Aran sighed. “I explained to you that I had created the technique from watching Willa move through the forest as she hunted, but I never actually let you see that for yourself. You just don’t know how a Mist Wolf hunts.”

‘How a Mist Wolf moves?’ Telram asked himself, he knew how the wolves of his own world hunted, in packs usually hamstringing their prey before bringing them down, but what he didn’t know was; did Mist Wolves hunt the same way?

If they did then it was likely that was part of what he was missing, perhaps the essence of Graceful Mist Step was that it wasn’t just an evasive movement technique, perhaps it was less about evasion and more about positioning himself to strike an enemy in such a way that they wouldn’t be able to fight him.

Telram thought back to the sparring match he had just had with his father, the way that Aran had moved, each step he took certainly made him harder to hit but had also made it easier for him to hit Telram.

Aran watched a series of expressions cross over his son’s face, first was the confusion he had expected, then that expression was replaced by a look of realisation which was followed again by a feral grin as Telram opened his eyes.

“Figured something, out did you?” he asked, Aran had recognised that sequence, it was one that he had seen many times over the past few years and according to Gerry each time it had appeared Telram had suddenly advanced in whatever had been troubling him previously.

“Maybe,” Telram replied cheekily causing his father chuckle.

“Heh, well either way, you need to get ready for tomorrow, you’ll be going hunting with your old man,” Aran said with a smirk, expecting his son to freak out. He was going to be disappointed.

“Okay,” Telram answered casually, he had already been expecting that this was where the conversation was headed so he had decided to mess with his father by acting like it was no big deal, he was of course actually excited by the idea, but he had no intentions of letting his father no that.

Aran stood watching his son walk away with a stunned look on his face.

“What just happened?” he asked as he looked up at the sky.

Willa looked at Telram with amusement in her amber eyes as he walked in, she had heard everything that had happened and was also looking forward to him coming hunting tomorrow.

“Hey girl,” Telram said as he rubbed her head. “So, what do you think? Am I ready?”

Willa rolled her eyes at him, of course he was ready, as soon as he had condensed his Mana Core his Soul Energy had given him enough of an advantage that he could at least fight against a Stage One Mana Beast, at least until either Willa or Aran had arrived to help him. She could also see the Mana that was beginning to move through his bloodstream and finally understood that he had borrowed the knowledge of how to do that from her. It would take a while but eventually he would have a body just as strong as a Mana Beast which she knew would give him a massive advantage in battle, especially against cultivators without a body strengthening technique.

“Ah! I forgot to ask dad what I should bring!” Telram realised. He was wearing the only pair of shoes that he owned, and he would pick his clothes depending on the weather as they were only going for a day, but he didn’t have a weapon of choice yet so what else was he supposed to bring?

“Let’s see,” he muttered. “Food and water are obvious, I should take at least something warm just in case, maybe a satchel to put herbs in if I find any?”

While it wasn’t her specialty Lily knew a few things about making medicines and dealing with the strange herbs that dotted Nerrus’ landscapes and over the past year had spent some time teaching Telram what she knew, he wouldn’t be able to become a doctor or alchemist without proper training but he had still been able to memorise the herbs and plants in the area surrounding Palamar.

“Hmm, what else? I wonder if I should make some simple traps as well?” he wondered. “Would that even work against a Mana Beast?”

He considered his won question for a while before shrugging, “If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work, I’ve got a little money I earned from selling some of my inscribed items,” he decided.

“Hey mum!” he called out. “I’m just going to pop out to the market. You need anything?”

“No dear but take Willa with you!” she replied.

“Alright! Come on girl,” Telram said.

The market was always an interesting place to visit, on any given day there could be anything on sale, from the meat and vegetables that Lily and Telram came to buy to weapons that a travelling cultivator had discovered in some ruins. Sometimes there were even captured Mana Beasts for sale, most of these were common and uninteresting and were mostly sold for their meat and skin, but some were rare and had multiple uses, from making medicines to making Soul Contracts with.

Today Telram was just here to get some strong wire and maybe something capable of knocking a weaker Mana Beast out if he could afford it, so he was surprised when Willa suddenly leapt forwards towards a crowd of people causing some to yelp in surprise as she knocked them aside.

“Wait! Willa!” Telram shouted chasing after her and earning himself glares from the people that she had bumped into.

“Sorry, sorry,” apologising to the people as he passed Telram made his way slowly through the crowd of onlookers wondering what the hell had gotten into Willa.

‘Jeez how many people are there here anyway?’ Telram wondered to himself, it seemed that most of the people in the marketplace were in this crowd, which probably meant that whatever they were trying to see was going to be impressive, but that didn’t explain Willa’s actions.

Just as Telram thought this he heard a strange coughing sound, a sound that he recognised from when he had visited the zoos back on earth, ‘Hmm, that sounded like…’

He pushed his way through the last of the people standing between him and whatever it was that had gotten Willa so excited and sure enough.

‘… a tiger.’

There in a cage that was far to small even for a cub of its age was a tiger cub, but it was no ordinary tiger cub. It was a Blood Tiger cub, Blood Tigers were very dangerous Mana Beasts that not only had very powerful physical bodies, even for Mana Beasts but also the ability to infuse Soul Energy into their roars paralysing their enemies. The cub in front of Telram right now was too young for this ability to affect any but the weakest people but that would change quickly as the cub grew. Blood Tigers were born as Stage Two Ordinary Mana Beasts and by the time they reached Stage Five their roar would influence someone at the Ascendant Realm making them one of the more dangerous Ordinary Mana Beasts.

Willa turned her head to look at Telram from where she sat waiting as Telram slowly edged closer to the cage.

The men standing guard watched him carefully as he approached but didn’t make any move to stop the boy who was staring at the cub as though in a trance.

The cub threw itself at the bars between it and Telram snarling in rage but Telram didn’t even flinch he just watched it silently his eyes roaming over the cub’s fur which was blood-red with thin stripes of black, it was this colouring that gave Blood Tigers their name.

Surprised by his lack of reaction the cub looked at Telram in the same way he was looking at him its eyes widening slightly as it noticed the large amounts of Soul Energy in his body, which was far greater than its own.

Meanwhile Telram was using his spiritual sight to determine how Blood Tigers were able to use their Soul Energy to paralyse other being and was marvelling at the cub’s physique which was impressive even at a young age, already it neared Willa in terms of sheer power.

A burly man noticed Telram staring at the cub and stomped over towards the boy with an irritated expression on his face, it was bad enough having all these adults trying to catch a glimpse of the Mana Beast he and his men had captured but this wasn’t a place where kids who couldn’t pay for anything themselves to hang out, even if said kid was almost as tall as a grown man.

Just then a weathered hand fell onto his shoulder and he turned to look at the owner.

“It’s your lucky day,” said Gerry with a grin. “My student seems to have taken an interest in that Beast you captured.”