Soru laid in bed nearly the entire night without being able to sleep. The only thought circling his mind was what happened with the Goddess-like lady. With his body feeling the most refreshed in a while after waking up, his mind was also experiencing a feeling of high.
'I don't know who that lady was but obviously, I came across a fortune.'
Soru wanted to go back to that strange place once again to maybe meet the girl again but every time he put his energy in the ring, all he got back was nothing. Well, nothing and also not nothing.
Soru wasn't just twirling his thumbs while being deaf, he was also studying as much as he can about cultivation to maybe gain some strength of his own someday. Of course, without sound, all the texts and their instructions were many times harder to figure out on your own.
But what he was able to find was the equipment that cultivators use. Swords, spears, bows, and such were obvious but he was more interested in the more whimsical items that this world had to offer.
In his hands right now was something called a Storage Ring. He only heard about it once with his regular books but from what he knew, he was able to put objects into the ring as a separate dimension and store it.
Naturally, he tried to put objects in to test it. Putting his pillow back and forth was quite fun seeing it vanish from his hand and with a thought bring it back. He couldn't keep doing this for long since it used the already small energy that was inside of him. Nevertheless, he was able to observe the pillow was in the dark void he was at previously and concluded that the space he was before was his storage space.
What was strange was that he couldn't find the end of the storage ring. What he read before said that these special rings usually had set parameters but he didn't know if the reason he couldn't see his was because of his cultivation or because there were none.
The other object that he acquired was the book. He skimmed through the first few chapters and without a doubt, he could say that this book was the most important object he could have received. He believed that if he showed the world this book, nations and their armies would coming knocking at his door.
It was none other than a cultivation book! Cultivation, something he longed for so long, the practice of strengthening one's self to achieve imaginable power and life.
At first, he was worried about his affinity with the Cultivation style after skimming through the book but after remembering its origin, all he needed to do was try it and he will find out.
Looking at what he will achieve when he reaches the first stage, it was perfect to help him escape. Stages in Cultivation manuals are similar to landmarks in that it gives the user a major boost in power in different ways. And as for everything, manuals usually also have a rank to go with it to describe how powerful it is.
Although Soru knew some of the names of these ranks, he did not know where his manual lied as he had nothing to compare it to. He has never seen an actual cultivation manual in his life. But even so, he could tell that this book could easily lead him to a greater path by just reading the first few chapters
However, looking at how profound it looked, more and more questions popped into his mind about the mysterious lady. Such an encounter was engraved in his mind. He couldn't help but feel that he knew who she was already. And even though she was trying to hide it by acting cold, a hint of affection was leaked out of her voice.
Being able to detect the fluctuations of emotions in a voice to a creature of that much power would have given Soru some pride and satisfaction, but none of these thoughts came to his mind. He just wanted to know who she was.
'It doesn't matter. I just need to focus on my cultivation and escape. Only then will I have the luxury to figure out the mysteries of this world.'
That was his last thought as he cleared his mind and started to cultivate on his bed.
---
*Slam!*
The same butler from yesterday barged into Soru's room without any sense of privacy. Seeing Soru sleeping on the bed, he went over and shook him awake. Soru opened his eyes to see the blue butler mentioning him to follow.
Seeing that the butler didn't suspect that anything was wrong, he followed the butler out. Soru never slept in the bed but cultivated all night long. Using his newly acquired hearing to listen out for footsteps, he went to his bed to pretend to sleep like a kid when their mother checked in.
Going through the house the size of a mansion in his previous life, he swore he saw at least 5 paintings of that narcissist lady. He was led to a shower that was strangely larger than normal. Knowing what was expected, he cleaned himself quickly and put on the clothes that were given to him. All the while feeling uncomfortable with the blue butler staring right at him.
'If you wanted a show, the least you can do is to do it discreetly!'
After that, he was led through a few more halls until they arrived in a room that was quite far from the entrance. It was similar to a measuring room that you would go to check your weight and height from a doctor. Just some stray thoughts about Soru's previous world. There was a scale on the side with a statue holding an orb on the left. On the right side, Madam Cherry was on her desk staring intensely at Soru with papers and other items in between them.
She gave him a big smile and she spoke cheerfully. As if she completely forgot the previous exchange they did the night prior.
"Welcome Soru, you look so much better all cleaned up!"
Like it was magic, a blue form of energy made its way between the two, repeating every word that Madam Cherry said. Soru raised his eyebrows in surprise before turning his head to the side to see the butler waving his finger to write words in the air.
"Don't be so surprised, Wonder here will teach you how to do something as simple as that so you can communicate with us. We didn't want you to be startled on your first day, but you will have to grow accustomed to this method of communication if you want to stay at this mansion."
He turned his head as naturally as possible so it didn't give off the impression that he heard her. He didn't really want to stay but he knew only death would follow if he declined. Seeing her smile, he wished for her fate to be at the bottom of hell.
"From your files, it was said you were barely at the Power Realm however I would still like to check your cultivation just in case. Go over to that statue and place your hand on the orb."
After pretending to read the text, he went over to the statue and placed his hand on the orb. As the orb was scanning the energy in his body Soru didn't doubt that he has risen in cultivation. Not only did the strange liquid increase it, but his all-night cultivation also solidified it.
There was no way for him to conceal his cultivation, all he can hope for is that they underestimate him when the time comes and with the first stage of the manual, he was confident that it would happen.
The statue glowed a bright white light indicating that it was done evaluating his cultivation before settling in on a blinding, neon green color.
Both Madam Cherry and Wonder wore surprised expressions on their face.
"You aren't at the bottom of the Power Realm! You at the Blinding Stage!"