Seifr walked through the streets of Vinson with confidence. Every little increase in cultivation added to an unconscious state of mind of being able to handle more and more. It was a gradual effect, and Seifr would never claim that he was not confident before, but, over time, his bearing and presence expanded ever upward. Such a phenomenon was a double-edged sword, however, and had led to many cultivators thinking themselves infallible. Many had met their doom under such circumstances.

Seifr did not worry too much about overestimating himself. He recognized the dangers, and actively strove to not be arrogant. His natural disposition was one of mutual respect: if you respect me, I'll respect you; if you don't respect me, then we have a problem. That was not to say that he did not encounter situations he could not handle. He knew that those situations simply were not caused by his attitude.

Not only was he walking a little taller because of an increase in self confidence, but he was genuinely happy with his progress. The feeling of ki circulating through his meridians and the power he felt coursing through his muscles had an indescribable feeling. It was almost addictive.

Seifr sauntered into the safe house in search of Shayla. He had already re-stocked his supplies for the return trip to the wilderness for continued training, but he felt like relaxing and recuperating a bit. He would take this time to make good on his promise to meet with Shayla to see where they stood on returning to performing missions.

He found Shayla at the store room purchasing some manuals. Seifr had seen other teenagers with such items, and the books generally outlined ki techniques that could be utilized in the Elementary Realm such as the technique for suppressing vibrations or enhancing night vision. The one Shayla was receiving appeared a little different than the ones he had seen previously.

"So I take it you were successful in breaking through the Nascent Realm?" Seifr spoke out as he sensed the increased depth of Shayla's aura.

Shayla spun around and grinned when she spotted Seifr approaching her and said, "Yup! I've actually reached the 3rd Nascent Realm. I was originally intending to get some simple ki techniques as soon as I broke through, but the effect of those herbs made me realize I could push on further in one go. I decided to forgo more herbs in favor of some instruction on simple ki manifestation."

Seifr nodded at Shayla's words. He agreed with this decision. Only once a cultivator reached Spirit Realm would one be able to actually manifest ki, but Nascent Realm cultivators could do very simple, crude versions of the same thing - for instance the wind blade that William used. If a Nascent Realm practitioner wanted to utilize such a move, he or she could imitate it but at a much greater cost of ki. One would not be able to condense such a sharp blade, nor could one send out such a massive amount as William had, but one would be able to send out a forceful blast of air short distances.

"So what did you decide on?" Seifr inquired. He actually did not even know what Shayla's attribute was. I don't even know my own attribute, Seifr mused.

Shayla held up the manual for him to inspect, and he noted that on the cover it said, "Windstep."

"This particular manual contains the information for cultivating the actual Spirit Realm skill of Windstep, but it also contains information on how one could imitate it. Having the actual skill is much more useful in quickly grasping the concept than if it only contained the imitation. Once I reach Spirit Realm, this skill will allow me to manifest wind ki under my feet to allow me to launch myself higher in the air, muffle my footsteps, slide along the ground with reduced friction, slow my falling speed, and at mastery, even allow me a few extra steps while airborne! The imitation basically will allow me to muffle my steps and reduce friction. Still valuable." Shayla was obviously very enthusiastic about her choice of skill.

Seifr laughed good-naturedly as he replied, "Always striving to improve your ability to sneak about. Not willing to have to impersonate being a servant?" Seifr joked.

Shayla elbowed him in the ribs lightly as she said, "Ha ha." She spirited away the small book into her tunic as she eyed Seifr up and down. "I see that I'm not the only one who had a significant breakthrough. Even though you're still in the same realm, your speed of advancement is much faster than mine. You're actually above average in cultivation for your age now. How about that?"

Seifr rubbed his ribs and frowned in consternation. "You're a powerful cultivator now. Show a little restraint and try not to break my ribs."

Shayla rolled her eyes at his antics and swatted at him playfully. Seifr threw his hands up and yelled, "Have mercy!" They looked each other in the eye, and then they both burst out laughing.

"C'mon. Let's go celebrate," Shayla said as she grabbed a hold of Seifr's hand and dragged him to the ladder leading upstairs.

"Hold on. Since I'm already here, might as well pick up a few things first," Seifr retracted his hand and turned to the store room. He used the last of his points to get some more spirit herbs. He only had enough points for two more sets of the three different types, and if he wanted more assistance in the future, he would need to go on some more missions.

The two finally made their departure and meandered about through the city looking for a place to eat and celebrate. Shayla appeared a bit more playful than the last time he had seen her, constantly poking and swatting at him as they walked through the city streets. Seifr put up a valiant defense, but he basically let Shayla do what she wanted.

They finally settled on a fairly upscale restaurant in the outskirts of the rich neighborhoods. As they were seated and reading through the menu, Seifr was reminded of the restaurant excursion he had had with Seth almost a year ago. He had a faint smile on his face as he reminisced about the time he had spent with his good friend, but a trace of grief quickly flashed across his face as his thoughts inevitably lead to Celia and the rendezvous between the two he had come across.

Shayla noticed the change in expression, and she reached out to grab Seifr's wrist to get his attention to ask his opinion about the menu. Seifr returned to himself and leaned over to make his suggestion to Shayla. He made his decision and leaned back in his chair, pulling away from Shayla and watching the crowd.

Shayla looked at him askance and finally said, "You're very strange, you know that. Most guys would try to prolong contact with a beautiful girl."

Seifr frowned at her in confusion and then said, "Who ever said you were beautiful?"

Shayla gasped in mock indignation and anger. She slapped at Seifr several times, actually letting a little sting enter her strikes, and Seifr burst out laughing as he tried to fend her off. "Fine, fine. You're... not bad," Seifr said through his laughs.

Shayla huffed and said, "Fine, I'll just leave then!" She made to get up, but Seifr grabbed her arm and pulled her back into her chair.

"Sorry. I couldn't resist. You are very pretty," he said sincerely.

Shayla closed her eyes and turned her nose up at the compliment. "I guess I forgive you."

The two returned to their normal banter after that. The meal was excellent, if a little on the pricey side, but they had money to spend. It was still the middle of the afternoon when they finished up and left the restaurant, and the duo decided to go ahead and return to the safe house.

"So. Missions. I still want a little more time to process this technique I just picked up. If you insist on going on one, I might be able to be convinced... for the right price," Shayla said as they walked.

"Nah, I'm good for now. I just used up the last of my points, but I still have two sets of herbs to use. I want to see if I can't reach the Nascent Realm in the next few months. My progress has picked up remarkably, and I want to take advantage of it while I can. If I don't reach Nascent Realm in the next hundred days, I'll call it quits and we can go back to missions. That should be enough time for you to read through that manual at least once, right?" Seifr did not forget to tease Shayla a bit.

A look of shock and hurt came across Shayla's face before she replied, "You know I can't read! You jerk."

Seifr's expression fell and he felt a chill go down his back. "Wha...? Wait, wait.. Ugh..." Seifr sputtered. He was completely taken aback and did not seem to know how to respond. He took in a deep breath, squared his shoulders, and said with deep sincerity, "I am so sorry. I didn't know."

Shayla burst out laughing. "You should have seen the look on your face! Ha! Serves you right! Who doesn't know how to read at our age? Don't be an idiot," Shayla said, pleased that she had gotten one over on Seifr.

Seifr scratched the back of his head and smiled sheepishly. "Right. Well, I guess we'll part ways again. I already have everything I need, and I got all the 'rest and relaxation' I think I could handle around you for now," Seifr stuck his tongue out at Shayla as he said that last bit. "I think I'll go ahead and go back out."

Shayla waved as the two separated and called out, "Ok! See you in a few months. Don't be surprised when you can't catch up to me."

Seifr chuckled to himself as he made his way back out of the city. His last training session was mostly spent running, carrying boulders, striking the boulders until they broke, and swordsmanship. This time he planned on going to the other end of the same mountain range a little further away from the city where he had seen a fairly large cliff.

The trek through the forest was uneventful. Any spirit beasts that sensed Seifr's aura would quickly retreat from the area or hide, but most of the wildlife in this forest were simple, normal beasts. Once Seifr reached his destination, he once again set up a crude lean-to and camp. He then walked to the cliff face and studied it for a while, noting the best likely approach to scaling it.

When he had made his deductions, Seifr began to climb the cliff. Whenever he ran into an area that did not have sufficient handholds to continue, he simply manipulated his ki into his hands and carved some out. Using this method, Seifr spent a couple of hours forging a path to the top of the cliff. He did not worry about falling or slipping, because with his cultivation, he could simply slam his hands and feet into the cliff face directly if need be.

At the top of the cliff, Seifr surveyed the land below him. Wow. It's a bit higher up than I thought. The view was amazing. To the South he could see the edge of the city of Vinson sprawling out into the distance. The farmland surrounding the city, the city itself, and the forest all made a deep contrast that was beautiful to look at. Off to the East, he could see where the forests ended, and an endless plain with the occasional rolling hills began.

He had spent his entire life in the city. He had apprenticed on a farm for a little while several years ago, but that was still pretty much within the city for all intents and purposes. There was more farmland further from the city along the main highways leading deeper into the empire, but he had never ventured forth that way. Seifr was beginning to get a much deeper appreciation for the wilderness as he gazed at its beauty.

Seifr stopped his sight-seeing and returned to the bottom of the cliff. He sat down in the lotus position to meditate over his plan before enacting it. He knew the basics of what he wanted to do this time, but he needed to think of all of the ways he could accomplish it. He spent about an hour making up his mind before he got up and went searching for some boulders.

He did not choose large boulders to carry over his head this time, but instead several smaller boulders he placed in a sack. Once the sack was full, he tied it to himself at the waist with a rope and ascended the cliff. Having the extra weight dangling from him as he made the climb was much more difficult than he had expected. Instead of just adding on substantial weight, it swayed in the wind below him, affecting his balance and causing him to have to constantly shift his muscles to compensate.

He finally reached the top, sweating and panting for breath. He quickly sat down and began to circulate his ki and absorb Spiritual Energy. He did not use any of the herbs right away. He would save those for when he was truly exhausted.

During his meditation on his training regime, Seifr had decided on doing isometrics. He removed most of the large stones from the sack, and then he assumed the horse stance. After stabilizing himself, he balanced a large stone on each thigh, one on his head, and finally tied one to each wrist before extending his arms out to the sides. He occasionally moved his arms from his sides to his front and back again.

Seifr held the pose for as long as he could, feeling his muscles burning with the effort to maintain the position and his balance. As he felt his muscles begin to give way with exhaustion, he swiftly broke the stance and set the stones aside. He picked up the remaining stones he had left in the sack, slung it over his back, and entered a front-leaning-rest position with the added weight boring down on his arms and chest muscles. He slowly bent his arms all the way to ninety degrees before slowly straightening them back out performing excruciatingly slow push-ups.

Seifr maintained the exercise until he felt his muscles giving way, and then he once again shifted positions. In this final position, he laid on his back with his arms out to his sides and stones tied to his ankles. He slowly, slowly raised his feet from barely off the ground to as high as he could lift them and then back down to the ground again utilizing his abdominal muscles to perform the movements.

After he had completed the third exercise, once more doing so until near muscle failure, Seifr regained the lotus position and circulated his ki. This was his new regimen. He had decided to focus more on building his muscles directly instead of exhausting himself through endurance training. He would occasionally descend the cliff in search of slightly larger stones, and he also sometimes went for runs along the top of the mountain.

Seifr spent his days sweating and straining, but with all of the physical exertions, his mind was tranquil. He was content.