Before they could start hammering away in the middle of the night, Eiwin had to drag Red out of the forge against Goulth's objections. Soon they were in the courtyard again, and the woman led him to another building.

"I've prepared a bath for you." She explained. "Your new clothes are inside."

After that, Eiwin left him alone inside a room furnished with a large wooden tub filled with hot water. Towels were hanging on a rack; his clothing was neatly folded on top of a table, and in a nearby stand, all kinds of toiletries were stored. There were a few bars of soap and a variety of pleasant-smelling bottled liquids, the purpose of which Red had no clue about.

He didn't know where to start, but the youth was above asking for help with this kind of task too.

...

Ten minutes later, Red exited the bathhouse wearing his new clothing - a long-sleeved black shirt and black trousers. They looked similar to the ones Allen was wearing earlier and were a bit too big on his body, but they were by far the most comfortable clothes the youth ever remembered wearing. He could get used to those.

But then, there were also the shoes.

The boy had never actually worn anything on his feet, so getting used to having them completely covered by a thick material was difficult. However, since everyone else in this town seemed to wear shoes, the youth thought it was better to try and fit in.

Further ahead, he saw Eiwin sitting on a chair while calmly waiting for Red to walk over. Upon seeing the boy approach, she looked at him up and down, examining his completely changed appearance.

"Now you look like a proper young man." She smiled. "These clothes fit you very well."

"Not really. They're actually a bit too large for me." Red shook his head.

"I meant..." Eiwin was at a loss for words. "...We'll buy you better-fitting ones eventually."

The boy nodded and looked at the woman inquisitively.

"What now?" He asked.

"Hm, I didn't think about that." She examined the night sky. "Are you tired?"

The youth shook his head. He had just woken up an hour ago after all.

"Uh... I didn't think about this too much." Eiwin struggled as she tried to come up with something. "Do you want to go visit the library?"

"What's that?" Red asked.

"It's where we keep the sect books." She explained. "You might not be able to read yet, but I can summarise a few of them for you if you'd like."

"That sounds interesting." The boy nodded. He still had so much he wanted to learn about, and waiting until he could read to do it wasn't an option to him.

Eiwin led him to the other side of the courtyard, and into a completely closed-off stone house. Holding her lantern in hand, the woman opened the door and illuminated the interior of the building.

Red was greeted by a very cramped room as a wave of musty air hit him directly in the face. Bookshelves lined up the library from wall to wall, and in them, the youth could see hundreds of books in various conditions. Some of them looked as old as the one Goulth had offered to him, while others were nothing more than a pile of papers bound together with a string.

Red had to be careful as he walked between the shelves to not accidentally knock into any of them. He feared that they would turn to dust at the slightest touch. Thankfully, though, the building wasn't very big, and Eiwin finally brought him to an open space where he could breathe.

A large table stood in the middle of the opening. All sorts of books and papers were messily spread around the surface, and the woman had to clear a space where she could set her lantern on. She pulled up a chair for Red and one for herself, before sitting down and smiling at the youth.

"Here, sit down." She pointed to her side. "I have something I'd like to show you."

The boy did as he was told. Eiwin began to sort through the pile of books on the table, before finding what she was looking for. Setting it in front of her, the youth was able to see what she had picked out. This book, in particular, looked to be in far better condition than the other ones in the library.

"Have you ever seen this book before?" Eiwin asked.

Red felt compelled to say he had never actually seen a book at all before today, but in the end, he simply shook his head.

"This is one of the oldest known books in the history of humanity." The woman explained. "It is widespread to the public these days, and it has had so many different versions that no one knows what the original one looked like or who wrote it for that matter. The message remains, though."

She pointed at the book cover, where some words were written.

"It's called 'Spirit Key'." She continued. "It's the first recorded document about Spiritual Cultivation, back when humans were still in the process of figuring out how they could use Spiritual Energy to their benefit."

Red's interest was piqued.

"What's written in it?" He asked.

"All the basics you need to know about Spiritual Cultivation." Eiwin opened the book and turned it towards a certain page. "Here, do you know what this is?"

The boy glanced over the paper and saw an illustration he was very familiar with. It was an outline of a human body, depicting the twelve Spiritual Veins, their acupoints, and the Spiritual Sea. It seemed far more detailed than the drawing in Viran's hideout, but Red noticed that the picture contained only the 99 basic acupoints and none of the special ones the man had mentioned to him before.

"I recognize it." Red nodded at Eiwin's question. "It's the Spiritual Veins and the Spiritual Sea."

"That's right." The woman smiled. "Not only did this book contain an explanation on these special organs required for cultivation, but it also depicted the most common method for opening acupoints and the Spiritual Sea. These techniques are nothing special compared to the ones some factions have, but the simple act of spreading this knowledge increased humanity's strength as a whole."

Eiwin looked impassioned with the topic and Red felt as if she had even forgotten the boy was in the room.

"This book was written during a time when cultivation was not a tightly kept secret, and when humanity as a whole was united against one common enemy." She continued. "Things have changed since then. Humans fight against humans now, and every faction keeps their knowledge of Spiritual Practice a secret from the world..."

The woman shook her head in dejection.

"I wish I could rebuke them on their attitude, but they do what they must to survive." Eiwin turned to Red, pointing at the book. "At the very least, though, they couldn't keep this knowledge from spreading even if they tried."

"...What were they fighting? Humanity, I mean." Red interjected before the woman could move on.

"...Monsters." She replied with a conflicted expression. "Before humanity discovered the secrets of cultivation, these strong creatures ruled and dominated the world. The only reason humans survived during those days was by hiding from them, and also because they were of no threat to the true rulers of the continent. This all changed one day, of course, but that's a topic for another time..."

Eiwin shuffled the pages of the book before settling onto another page. This one didn't have any technical illustrations, but instead possessed vivid drawings depicting a swordsman in the middle of a forest.

"This book talks about more than just plain cultivation. So tell me, Red." The woman turned to him again. "What do you know about Spiritual Energy?"

Red felt like this was a trick question, but he didn't see any reason not to answer.

"It's a formless energy that is present in the air and that we can use to unlock the true potential of our bodies." The youth put it as simply as he could remember Viran explaining it to him.

Eiwin grinned, with a slightly smug expression as if she already knew his answer would be wrong and was happy to display her knowledge and correct him.

"That's partially correct, but there's a lot more to it than just that." The woman continued. "Have you ever wondered to yourself why they call it 'Spiritual' Energy?"

Red shook his head. The thought had never even entered his mind while he was underground.

"It's because the energy has a will of its own." She explained. "It is capable of influencing its surroundings and at the same time, it can be influenced by its surroundings. That is to say, it has a spirit, hence the name."

"Does that mean it can think and make decisions like a human?" Red frowned, confused with the explanation.

"Not quite like that." Eiwin shook her head. "It's still energy, not a person, but it's a powerful reflection of the world it lives in and is capable of telling us things we can't see with the naked eye. In other words, Spiritual Energy can take various forms and attributes depending on where it's located."

Red recalled the different types of color he had seen the energy displayed in. There was the pure white from Viran's Spirit Stone, the green from the insectoid's skills, and the crimson that had protected the boy from the spiders.

"An easy way to think about it is by using the elemental classification." Eiwin continued. "Different schools of thought have different opinions on how to categorize these elements, so I'll mention all of the known ones: Fire, Water, Air, Earth, Metal, Wood, and Lightning - these are all types of elemental attributes that Spiritual Energy can take.

"So for instance, in the forest where we found you, there is an abundance of Wood and Earth Spiritual Energy. Near the river, though, there would be more Water Spiritual Energy. But that in itself can change too. If you set fire to the forest, the Wood Spiritual Energy would transform into Fire Spiritual Energy. However, the energy can change the material world the same way the material world can change the energy.

"As an example, if you somehow could capture a lot of Fire Spiritual Energy from somewhere else and throw it into the forest, then the trees would most definitely catch on fire without you having to produce a spark. Do you understand?"

Red nodded. In his mind, he also started to wonder which attribute the green energy the insectoid used belonged to.

"That is actually one of the most important principles behind the Spiritual Arts one can use once they open their Spiritual Sea. But these aren't mentioned in this book." She explained, to the boy's dismay. "Of course, it is also important to know that this energy is rarely found in its pure form in nature. A single strand of Spiritual Energy in the forest will have mixed attributes between Earth and Wood, but also small trace amounts of Water, Air, and sometimes even Fire!"

"But there's no fire in there..." This time the boy seemed truly confused.

"There are different theories to explain that." The woman continued. "Some say that all life, including plants, is made up of different elements, hence the presence of Fire Energy in the middle of a forest. Other people say it's because of the warmth of the sun beating down onto our world, which is associated with fire. No one truly knows for sure, but what is important is being aware that one shouldn't speak in absolutes when talking about the properties of Spiritual Energy.

"Some techniques require very pure amounts of a certain type of Spiritual Energy, while others require a precise mixture of different types of elements. The special method you're using to open your Spiritual Veins probably has its own set of requirements too, doesn't it?"

Red nodded but refused to comment any further.

"You keep calling it Spiritual Energy, but it sounds more appropriate to call it Elemental Energy." The boy said, noticing the trend behind her explanation.

"That's a good catch." Eiwin smiled. "People actually used to call it that at one point, but then they made an important discovery."

She paused, relishing in the anticipation Red had to know the answer.

"That Energy is not only influenced by nature, but also by people and their actions. Emotions, martial arts, craftsmanship, and not only that but also more abstract concepts, such as life and death, fate, law and order. Absolutely everything in this world could influence the shape and attributes of Spiritual Energy!"

This time, Red didn't understand at all.