It had been two days since Rey killed Tracy Baelish and brought Kazumi and Dia back to Sky Keep, and things have been going well. Rey learned that Kazumi was at the amazing level of Mid-Advanced, and was close to breaking through to Peak-Advance.
It's important to note that the higher one goes in cultivation, the harder it gets to breakthrough to the next level, let alone the next stage. For Kazumi to get all the way to Mid-Advanced without the resources of a kingdom like Pamela had, shows just how talented Kazumi was.
Rey also learned that Kazumi was what people called a Kin-User, which were the elites of warriors.
"So tell me again, what is this Kin, and how do I get to use it?" Rey asked, eager to use his own Kin ability.
Apparently Kazumi manipulating smoke was his Kin ability, and he was considered a Unique Kin-User, as his ability has properties from multiple categories, and can't be clearly defined.
"When a Warrior is able to form their Chi, spirit energy, into the physical energy, it's called, Ki. You know that, right?" Kazumi asked, getting a nod from Rey.
"This will be simple then. When a warrior gets advanced enough to start manipulating their Ki, they can they form an ability called, Kin. Like genetics, spirit energy transfers from one generation to the next. But, Kin is not only influenced by genetics, but also willpower. If a bloodline was known as fire users, but one of them had the strong desire to heal people, his flames that could once only burn, would then give healing instead." Kazumi said, as Rey listened with stars in his eyes.
This sounded just like those cool powers from some anime he used to watch, but simpler.
"There are 6 types of Kin-Users. Converter, who changes the quality and type of their Ki. Operator, those who can control animate and inanimate things with their Ki. Producer, they can detach their Ki and project it from their bodies. Booster, They can strengthen themselves, others and objects with their Ki. Summoner, they can create objects just from their Ki. Finally, there's Unique, users who's abilities are so different, it can't be classified." Kazumi informed as he laid on his couch, casually smoking his cigarette.
Rey looked at Kazumi smoking and had a sudden epiphany. If Kazumi's Kin ability is related to smoke, it was no wonder he always had a cigarette in his mouth. He had to smoke them for his Unique Kin ability.
"Okay, okay, now how do I use mine?!" Rey asked excitedly, as his nerd passion was flaring up once again.
Not only could he be a badass wizard, but this was the perfect chance for him to get an anime power. He wondered if he could get the swirling eye power that the brooding character Ninja Wars had. Rey chunni excitement could barely be contained, but Kazumi's next words made it all come crashing down.
"Calm down already, I don't even think you can develop a Kin ability. From what I understand, Ki and Mana are two very different forms of energy,and they don't work in the same ways. I've never heard of a magic-user ever being a Kin-User as well." Kazumi said, nearly shattering all of Rey's hopes.
Rey was about to slump back in his throne depressed when Jinbe suddenly appeared before them again, making Rey jump while Kazumi choked on his cigarette.
"God damnit, Jinbe! Warn me next time!" Rey yelled as he clutched his chest.
"You'll be fine. Anyway, I'm afraid I'll have to disagree with your assessment, Young Kazumi. Though normally it would be nearly impossible for someone to cultivate both mana and Ki, but after being bound to Rey for a short while now, I have determined that he is a Dual-Cultivator." Jinbe said, both Rey and Kazumi looking at him in confusion.
"Dual-Cultivator? What is that and why do I feel that you're about to tell me that Rey is going to be more overpowered than he already is?" Kazumi asked with a bit of exasperation.
'He thinks I'm overpowered? How?' Rey thought to himself in surprise.
"A Dual-Cultivator is simply one who has the ability to cultivate two forms of energy. Rey had two mentors before we had to leave Harrend Village, one for Healing and the other for Combat. Though he was only with them for a few days, he was able to pick up the training like a fish out of water. Also, as he was battling the Sea Dragon outside of Sky Keep, Rey used the Kin ability, Barrier, which saved his life." Jinbe said.
Rey wouldn't call running away and nearly shitting himself as a dragon almost ate him a battle, but he did remember a green transparent shield popping up at the last second when the Sea Dragon shoot it's beam at him. 'So that was a Kin ability? I don't even know how I did it!' Rey thought to himself.
"Since you have the Confidentiality tattoo and already know about Rey's background with the Vanguardians, I'll go a step further. I believe that the soul that resided in Rey's body before him may have actually been the Dark Master they prophesied. I suspect that they had somehow crippled his cultivation before they started the ritual to destroy him, but since the ritual failed and Rey took over the body, he now has the cultivation gifts of the Dark Master," Jinbe said, shocking both Rey and Kazumi before he continued.
"I believe that the Dark Master may have been a genius at cultivating Ki, which made him a dangerous Kin-User. But, I believe that Rey separately is a genius when it comes to magic, as his level of comprehension is almost unheard of. So, since Rey's soul is now inhabiting the body of the Dark Master, I think that had somehow given him the unique ability to cultivate both mana and Ki." Jinbe explained.
Though it was just a guess, it made perfect sense. If that was truly the case, that would explain almost everything perfectly, and make Rey feel less bad that an evil soul he was unknowingly sharing a body with died. Still, knowing that he was a Dual-Cultivator, Rey was starting to feel like the protagonist again, which made him slightly nervous. Bullshit always had a way of following the protagonist and making his life hell.
"Damn, no wonder the Vanguardians wanted to kill you so bad. You could singlehandedly cause them a shit ton of problems once you get stronger." Kazumi said to Rey.
"I wouldn't have given a damn about them if they hadn't nearly killed me. Now, I'll do whatever I can to make sure that I never feel that weak again." Rey declared, sitting a little straighter on his throne.
"Okay, that changes things then. Jinbe, that Training Dungeon, can I bring others with me if I want?" Rey asked, formulating a plan in his head.
"Well yes, same as to get here, the Training Dungeon is a pocket dimension that can be accessed from a spell. All you'd have to do is cover whoever you want to come along with your mana once you cast the spell. But we're you not planning on going to the tournament in Shore's Landing? They might be looking for you in your Shinigami uniform, but they have no idea what you look like under it." Jinbe said.
"That was exactly my thoughts. I plan to use the Training Dungeon's time distortion as best as we can. I want us all to train and gain as much experience as possible, in case something unexpected happens. I want to bring Dia as well." Rey said, as Kazumi looked at him with confusion and surprise.
"What? The girl is in the Commoner stage and has never seen a battle a day in her life. Why the hell would you want to bring her?" Kazumi asked in a cool tone, but Rey could hear his exasperation as well.
"She's actually been training hard these last few days. She came to me that first night saying that she wants to be useful to me and to be strong. She was too weak and wasn't compatible with most of the weapons in the barracks, but she took to the bow nicely and has great aim. Though it's just a start, I want to help her get stronger as much as she can. Plus, I earned the Training Dungeon when I was just at the Commoner stage myself. With both me and you there to watch her back as she picked the enemy off with the bow, it should work out." Rey said, imagining Dia becoming a badass archer that decimates whole battlefields.
Kazumi was silent for a while before he blew out a plume of smoke. "Well, you're the boss. If you think it's a good idea and it's what she wants, I'm down." Kazumi said as he drank some wine from his wine cup next to him.
Hearing that, Rey smiled. He was glad to have someone strong who had a mind of his own, but still loyally follow him. Rey could already see Kazumi becoming irreplaceable to him in the future.
With a plan decided, the two went to the barracks training ground to find Dia galloping back and forth as she fired shots into the targets. Though she did miss some, they could both see her potential to become a deadly Archer.
Over the days, Rey had been feeding Dia very well and using a new Talisman he learned to make, Revitalize, on her regularly. Though she isn't 100% Dia's health was already starting to show signs of improving, and she could now exert herself without posing a danger to her health.
Telling Dia the plan, she excitedly agreed, as she was willing to go anywhere with Rey, especially if there was a chance for her to become stronger. Deciding to wear their Shinigami uniforms, since their regular clothes didn't have the same Runes to mend them if they got damaged. Apparently they could learn that Inscription in the intermediate-manual.
Wearing their clocks and masks, they all looked similar, but Rey's outer vest and the sash around his waist was green. Kazumi's vest and sash were orange, and like his kimono, Kazumi wore the cloak half-open.
Dia's vest and sash were yellow and she had two quivers tied to either side of her full of arrows. Since she was a Centaur and had a horse lower half, she could carry that and more without it overwhelming her at all.
With all of them ready to go, Rey covered both Dia and Kazumi in his mana as he prepared to chant the spell to take them to the Training Dungeon.
"Devzo." Rey said, forcing himself to not yell it like he used to, despite his excitement of using a new spell.
Like the other times he's teleported, Rey felt a warm sensation as a bright green light nearly blinded him. Once the light died down, Rey and the others found themselves on a grasslands with nothing around for miles besides a wide mountain in front of them that had 10 entrances covered by purple, swirling portals. Each portal had a cultivation stage written above it with the weakest to strongest going from left to right.
Novice, Advanced, Expert, Elite, Master, Grandmaster, Legendary, Eternal, and Divine.
Strangely, the last port had no name over it, just four question marks, which Rey found odd. But, Rey decided not to worry too much over it, as he wasn't sure he could beat the Novice stage, let alone whatever the hell was after the Divine stage. What was more powerful than the Gods and Goddesses themselves?
"This place is freaky." Kazumi said as he looked up.
Looking up as well, Rey felt his mind swooning as there was no sky as one would expect, but an endless void of ever shifting colors and shapes. It felt like he was truly at the edge of the world and he was looking at where life's simulation ended.
Tired of feeling like he was in a bad acid trip, Rey broke he eyes away from the void and headed to the Novice portal, the others soon following behind. Now that they stood in front of the deceptively large portal, Rey turned around and wordlessly asked if they were ready. When both Dia and Kazumi nodded an affirmative, Rey and the others walked into the portal, ready to face whatever the dungeon had to throw at them.