Chapter 13: Lonely Voyage.

Chapter 13: Lonely Voyage.

Far, far from homea lonely traveler sped on through the infinite expanse of the universe.

It traveled amidst glittering stars, under the steady shine of the sun, and inside the infinite expanse of emptiness.

It also traveled alone.

Only now did the rock truly understand what that meant.

It was a solitary thing, used to spending eons calmly resting in place, letting the world pass on. But. There had always been something.

In the narrow crevice between two boulders, the rock had watched the rabbits frolic, evading hunters and foraging for the scarce offerings of autumn.

In the deeps of the dungeon, it had watched as little spiders crawled about, spinning their webs in a myriad of infinite patterns, a fragile tapestry upon the dark ceiling.

Even before it had truly known consciousness, when it had just been a normal rock, it had in some way watched the clouds roll by above, and the eagles dance among the winds.

Always, there had been something. Life.

But now, it only had a silent congregation of gravel and stone following it, mindlessly attracted along by a skill, a [Meteor Shower]. But it was not life.

However, the rock did not despair, nor did it get depressed. Because it had never truly understood life. Why did the spiders spin those webs, when they were always reduced to dust in a matter of months? Why did the rabbit frolick and produce offspring, when they too would all pass in a short few years?

They did not truly grow. A short burst of life, before inevitably succumbing to the tyranny of time.

The rock did not care for time, so it knew itself to be superior. It had traveled a long time by now. Was the wizard who had cast it out here already dead, reduced to dust?Updated from novelb(i)n.c(o)m

That was why it carried no hostility, no ill will. Why worry about revenge or such when one could just wait their enemies out?

A lesson many other immortal [Cultivators] could have learned much from.

But the rock did not know that, so it focused on its one true traveling companion. Because were you ever really alone in this world?

Quest:

Current Altitude: 179 500 123 222m

The rock never closed the screen anymore, it just let it stay there, steadily ticking up and up, a reminder of home, a constant companion.

And a promise of return.

Why worry about loneliness or time, when you could instead focus on numbers?

Then, the numbers finally crossed a threshold, and the rock focused, instantly shedding off all semblances of hibernation.

Because it would soon arrive at its next destination.

Seeing the map of the solar system with [Kin of Stone], the rock had plotted a simple course: Go where there were the most appropriately sized rocks, so that it could collect an army worthy of its return.

It had plotted out a course towards the great belt of rocks it had seen outline, somewhere in the midpoint of the solar system.

But it had run into a problem.

Current Velocity: 5 511.7 m/s

The rocky field which had seemed so grand on its mental map was actually really sparse.

The distances between each rock were vast, and most annoyingly of all, the stone could not just speed through them all, dragging them along into its wake.

No, it had to slow down, slow enough to pause for a moment at each stone, where it could then grab them along to its [Meteor Shower].

And the kicker? There was no more eternal grip of gravity pulling the rock down here, so slowing down actually took time. The same amount of time speeding up took, really.

No longer was it a rock-et. No the stones racing flight had turned into a crawl.

But still, this newest spot it might just prove more fortuitous than the others.

Becauseas the rock gradually slowed down and looked over the large planetoid it had arrived at, it noticed something. The planetoid, just a fancy term for a big stone really, was not aloneit had orbiters.

The stone was large, much larger than the rock itselfbut that no longer bothered the stone like it had used to. As a level 7 [Cultivator] it could sense the relative powers of beings much better, and it knew the barren stone in front of it carried no spark.

But it was a bit too large for the rock to take along as it was. So, without any further hesitation, the rock promptly put its [Energy Shift] thrusters on, activated its [Diamond Skin], and crashed into the larger rock as fast as it could.

Collide activated!

[Unnamed] Dealt 332.1 * 133653.3 / 4 = 11 096 565.2 dmg to

New Velocity for [Unnamed]: 4723.1 m/s

The planetoid shattered into bits, crumbling into smaller chunks, and that was normal. But what confused the rock was

The orbiters. They did not instantly start orbiting the rock, it would have to use [Meteor Shower] for that.

But why was that?

Why did the bigger rock attract orbiters around it, and the smaller stone did not?

As our hero pondered this new quandary, it felt itself being on the verge of a new breakthrough. Something resonated in its domain, a concept it could almost grasp for. It was closeso close to understanding.

The thing had no levels. It was more like the meteor it had just destroyedbut despite not having any levels there was a spark within it. Something guiding it along. Intelligence.

Science. The power of physics and reasoning, applied to create a vessel capable of braving outer space, and capable of sensing oddities there. Oddities like a rock that played with the very canvas of gravity.

But the rock knew the thing was wrong. It did not belong herein this solar system of levels.

Instinctively, a classification applied to the thing inside the rocks mind.

Gravity Launcher activated!

Launched at speed 92 m/s

The thing tried to evade the projectile, but the rock focused on its domain, painting a valley of gravity for its projectile to travel along, inevitably following the thing.

It could not escape. There was an impact, but... no experience. Still, the thing was destroyed, crushed by a projectile as soon as the rock had decided to destroy it. Instinctive.

But the rock knewif there was onea little scouting drone like this

There would be more.

So the rock cast out its senses, looking for any oddities, and felt some vague feeling, almost like excitement, but not quite. The rock wasnt quite there yet. It did not truly feel.

But stillwhen it sensed the larger vessels of metal entering the solar systemit began accelerating towards them.

Quest:

Current Altitude: 182 300 122 111m

Full Status:

[Unnamed]

Title(s): Line-Ender, Patient Ambusher, Bane of Demons, Grandmaster of Closed Door Cultivation

HP: 89/89

Mana: 0/0

Level: 10

Experience: 0/5000

Class: Meteorite

Sub-class: Cultivator 8

Race: Gneiss Stone

Gold: 100%

STATS

Diameter (d): 4.61m

Mass (m): 133653.3kg

Energy Level (E): 10 000 MW

Core Temp (T): 4000K

Domain size (d) = 10.0km

ABILITIES

Collide

Steer

Energy Shift

Pivot Point

Pivot Point: Orbital Slingshot

Just a Rock

Meditate

Diamond Skin

Stolen Cultivation

Meteor Shower

Kin of Stone

Gravity Launche