Chapter 153 - Last Night of Camping

"Don't mention it," Oli laughed. "But I will say, I didn't see that coming."

"No one could've. I've never heard of such a leopard."

"Not the leopard, you!" Laughing harder, Oli let the serious tension in the air dissipate. "Who would ever think the proud Johan would apologize so whole-heartedly?"

"I'm… You're right…"

"Whoa, you didn't need to agree that easily…"

Nodding, Johan mentioned, "I'm a coward that's only stronger than Leon because of my age. In a few years, he'll surpass me while you're already beyond my reach. I'm nothing special, to be honest…"

Noticing the mental breakdown happening in Johan's mind, Oli sighed again, "Thanks for the compliment, but no one's out of reach."

"Oliver, you're way too strong but Dad said you were only an early-adept. If that's true, I can never compare to you…"

"Johan, what's the point of cultivation if you're limiting yourself? Isn't being a cultivator a test of will against the elements? If you think an early-adept is out of reach, then will you never become an elder like your father or a perennial like your grandfather hopes to be?" Oli reasoned, spotting a mental pause taking place on Johan's face. 

"There are so many factors contributing to our strength. I was lucky to have strong parents that shared good techniques and arts before passing, but that doesn't mean I got lazy and didn't work hard. I'm only able to fight above my realm because of my essence control, maximizing the strength of my skills while wasting as little essence as possible. By finding your own private motivation and setting a clear goal, all that's left is persistent effort to climb the cliff that is cultivation."

"But… What if I'm not a natural talent? How can I compete with someone that is?" Johan asked, finally able to look Oli in the eye.

Still shaking his head, Oli replied, "You weren't listening. No matter the obstacle, you can overcome anything with a clear goal, a plan of action, and the determination to continue no matter the odds.

"I'll have you know, I've nearly died on multiple occasions and was even kidnapped for a little while. But here I am, still alive and well thanks to a little luck and a lot of hard work. Work hard for long enough and it's impossible for luck to evade you, then you've got to continue the cycle over and over again. If not, you may as well accept being mediocre and forget ever becoming an elder."

Johan sat in silence as he took those words to heart. He rarely opened up to anyone, even his parents, but witnessing Oli's strength and confidence in the face of deadly situations was beyond admirable to him. It was enough for him to finally come clean and ask for a little help with an open heart. Advice from someone that had earned Johan's respect fell heavier on his heart than from someone who he had always taken for granted, such as his parents or family.

"Get some rest, Johan. You'll need it so we can hurry you home."

"Okay… Thank you, Oliver." Johan got to his feet, put his hands together, and gave Oli a full bow. "Thank you."

"You're welcome…"

Oli was taken aback by the unexpected humility that Johan showed. He watched as Johan thoughtfully returned to the tent and presumably tried to sleep.

'He's not a bad kid,' Vloz commented. 'A little arrogant for my tastes, but he's more attentive than he appears.'

'For a second there I thought I was talking to someone else, not the c.o.c.ky kid that picked on Leon…'

'Seeing him like that and noticing the other's steady loyalty, I think I may like this Practor Family. Are they all like that?'

Tilting his head, Oli thought back to dinner with the Practor Family. 'For the most part, they're very honorable and respectable. The patriarch is stern and demands respect in public while he's quite caring and sensitive in private.'

'That's good… Hopefully, you didn't try and recruit a good-for-nothing family while you weren't being watched,' Vloz chuckled.

'Hey, I think I'm a great judge of character.'

'Sure you are, Oli. But for now, you should rest too. I'll keep an eye on everything and wake you up after you've had enough rest.'

'Thanks, Vloz… I need that.'

Saying nothing more, Oli let his mind sink into the soul jade. His body relaxed and essence began to pool around his body. He forgot about his surroundings and allowed essence to come to him rather than letting his essence flow about the environment on high alert. Now, Oli could let his body rest.

The sun cycle had now begun a new, resetting the paths and trajectory of the suns' travels through the sky. It was early morning by the time Oli and the party were able to get some rest. By midday, Oli finally received his wake-up call.

'Oli, it's time to hurry back.'

Glad to hear Vloz's calm voice echoing in his mind, Oli retracted his spirit from the soul jade and moved his body once more. He stretched and stood up, turning back to see two suns high in the sky and the third starting its new course.

"It's time, guys!" Oli shouted with a chuckle. "Don't you want to hurry back to a nice, warm meal?"

Johan was the first to hurry out of the tent. After seeing the sky, Johan asked, "I thought we'd only rest for a couple of hours?"

"You needed to recuperate so I gave you some extra time," reasoned Oli, not daring to admit that he also slept-in thanks to Vloz.

"Let's hurry back. I don't want to be out here longer than we need to be," admitted Shadur, already scrambling to remove the stakes before Leon could exit the tent.

By the time Leon was out and ready, Shadur and Johan were prepared to drop the tent's main support and break it down. In a minute or two, the tent was gone and the party was snacking on the last of Shadur's pre-made meals. All that remained was rushing toward the far-off city gate.