Chapter 838: Pressured
After a dozen ferocious fights, Sage returned to Deep Shore to sell materials and gather more information. He had no need to worry about mental fatigue, since he had all the time he wanted in the Inner World to relax. He also didnt have much to worry about for his physical body as he had the Universe Ring as a place of respite. His body was already quite powerful, and even had a naturally faster healing rate. When combined with a few alchemical pills tailored exactly to his needs by those on the Inner World he could recover extremely rapidly after each battle. Sage maintained his mental image as something of a video game character to keep himself from being shocked by this situation. As long as he felt like he was just hitting Rest at an inn in a game it was far easier to come to terms with the constant battle and rapid recovery.
Sage had no desire to turn into one of those crazy battle maniacs who knew nothing but fighting. Yet, if he didnt create a sort of mental disconnect for himself there was no way he could keep up such a rapid pace of constant combat. Even if he was experiencing things at a decelerated pace on the Inner World, he was also living them in real time on the outside. It reminded him of multiple personality disorder and the idea of creating new personalities to insulate oneself from trauma. It was an iteration of the technique he created to compartmentalize the pain he felt into a demon that he kept trapped within his mind. These changes to his mind were driven by his research with Psionic Crystals, using the techniques he unlocked to alter the Infinite Immaterial Seat, his mental cultivation technique. He remodeled some of the core interior chambers to allow the link to sensory equipment on the Inner World and also to help him process the extreme time dilation between his two bodies without suffering greatly.
Without that set of changes and alteration of his mindset his two linked minds would be forced to move at one time frame or another. Either perceiving the world to move at an utter snails pace in reality or for the Inner World to fly past too quickly for him to interact. The roots of this story extend from novell bìn origin.
While passing through a market district surrounded by food stalls, Sage noticed a confrontation between two gruff looking men. One of them was covered in scars and had dirty blonde hair, a westerner. The other had the almond shaped eyes of an easterner, but with shockingly bright blue hair. Sage had passed by many such heated altercations in the past, especially since none of them were allowed to actually enter combat in the city. Yet, this time, he stopped in his tracks when he saw the two of them giving threats.
The blond mans forehead surged brightly with violet light and the ground beneath him surged upwards, forming a suit of stone armor around his body. His height suddenly doubled from this sudden stone exo-skeletal suit and a menacing grimace on his new stone mask stared down at the blue haired man.
Across from him, the blue haired man wasnt backing down and Sage felt an unusual form of energy flow out and coalesce into a gigantic tiger behind the mans back. The black tiger was not corporeal, but the projection was over twenty feet tall and its neon blue stripes suddenly appeared all over the blue haired mans body. Power radiated off of the man, and with just a clench of his fist the intensity of the energy caused the stone man to be pushed back a step.
The blue haired man waved his hand to push away the smoke from his vicinity, leaving it clinging to the inside of the air bubble. He narrowed his eyes at Sage, Very convenient of you to wish to speak to me just as Im experiencing some trouble. Bartoks plan is more complicated than I thought. Or wait, do you work for Krutark instead?
I have no idea who Bartok or Krutark are. I was merely passing by and noticed you could use some assistance. Those cloaked people are the Shadow Capes, right? They will follow you till you leave town and then tell that blond guy, right?
A passerby, huh? Whats your angle then? Are you going to mediate for me? Do you have a connection with the Shadow Capes to make them stop? Or, youre here to buy my goods so that Bartok no longer has a need to chase after me for them anymore?
Bartok must be the blond man then? No, none of those. I was thinking of leaving Deep Shore soon so I could bring you with me. In return, Id like to know more about that tiger of yours. Ive never seen that type of cultivation before. Id just like to know the basics and it wouldnt hurt to have a little company while on the road.
Are you serious? This is the worst scheme ever.
Just consider it your lucky day. Tell me where youre staying and Ill drop by to pick you up at nightfall. What do you have to lose?