"Oh yeah, I remember now! Not having any element affinity is a must for awakening Battle Qi!"
When Cyrae mentioned it, I recalled many knowledges. But then I noticed something that didn't add up.
If that's true, wouldn't all Earth people have the potential to become Battle Qi awakeners?
Earth folks shouldn't have any element affinity, right? And if Adrian is correct about Earth being full of Battle Qi, why haven't we seen any Earth Battle Qi masters yet? This doesn't match reality!
"The training methods and awakening process for Battle Qi users are uncertain and random, but they're still based on single-element training and changes in how elements are absorbed and stored," Cyrae explained, answering my unspoken question.
"Earth is totally different from the other world. Even if Earth people could find a good way to train Battle Qi, their bodies are fundamentally different from people in the other world! We can't be sure they can absorb or store energy the same way, and Earth people are very different from each other too. Remember, even in the other world, only a tiny number of people without element affinity have the talent to awaken Battle Qi."
It seems Elara III, in whichever word, never stopped studying Battle Qi. To sum up her long explanation: Raydwin can use Battle Qi only because Adrian, who already has awakened Battle Qi, is helping him. If Earth people had to figure it out alone, who knows how long it would take!
Battle Qi awakeners are already rare. The other world only developed a proper theory in the last few hundred years. Before that, people just thought it was some exceptional physical talent.
"Luckily, you seem to have good fortune. Though the arrow's absorption effect is probably temporary, the Battle Qi you absorbed earlier has stayed in your body," Cyrae said, patting Raydwin's shoulder encouragingly.
"All you lack now is a way to absorb Battle Qi, which your master can help with. Battle Qi isn't just about running 2000 meters. It might even make you stronger overall, like other Battle Qi awakeners. But be careful not to absorb too much Battle Qi too quickly. It could cause all sorts of unexpected problems!"
"What kind of problems? If it's just pain, sickness, or a few wounds, I'm not scared. I can handle it!" Raydwin was super excited. He had a rare chance to get stronger fast and wasn't giving up, even after hearing about side effects.
"You might actually die, you know? If the Battle Qi leans too much towards fire element, you could go 'boom' and explode. Scary, right?" Cyrae warned with a smile. Seeing Raydwin finally scared into silence, she shook her head, looking kind and grandmotherly.
Gosh, it was weird! For a moment, I saw a bit of Elara in Cyrae! Then I thought about Cyra, still locked in her room, obsessed with live streaming...
Okay, even weirder!
They look exactly the same and have the same background. Just a tiny difference in what they went through, and they end up so different?
We finished talking about Battle Qi for now. After breakfast, Cyrae said she had things to do and left early.
Raydwin is still a student, so he had to go to school. Now it's just me, Adrian, and Cyra left in the house.
It's still early, and we've only been in this world for a few days. I can't be like Cyra, stuck at the computer all day. After discussion, Adrian and I decided to go into town again to see if we could find any clues about Nicola.
"What do you think Cyrae does for work on Earth? Even if she's lived nearly a hundred years and is pretty strong, she must need money, right? Angels need to eat too. She can't just rob people, can she?" I asked, curious about how rushed Cyrae looked when she left this morning.
"Ah, that's hard to say. Maybe she sells holy water?" Adrian scratched his head, not sure how to answer. We only know about Cyrae because of what we know about Cyra, but their personalities are totally different. If it was Cyra who'd been on Earth that long, she might actually do something like that.
"But even selling holy water needs an ID in this country. Wonder how she got all that stuff!" I couldn't help commenting. Cyrae didn't say much about her daily life. We only know she used disguise magic to hide that she wasn't aging from her family for a while. But she had to stop because it didn't work well on Earth. To solve the problem, she even faked her own death in an accident decades ago. So shouldn't she still be undocumented?
"Not necessarily!" Adrian thought for a moment, then reminded me, "Angels have special magic that can change memories. Even though Earth doesn't have much of any elements, don't you absorb a bit of light element from the sun every day?"
That's true! Even though the amount of light element I can absorb daily is tiny, it adds up over time! If you sunbathe for long periods every day, it's possible to gather enough magic power for a mid-level or high-level spell over several years.
But I'm still not totally convinced about this method. It takes so long! Cyrae must have incredible patience to slowly make this happen!
Plus, there's one thing I can't figure out—elements either exist in a world or they don't! So why is there just a tiny bit of light element in Earth's sunlight? And Battle Qi, which should be rare, is really abundant on Earth. It feels like there might be some connection between Earth and the other world.
We got off the bus when it reached the city center.
Since Nicola's old address in the south of the city is still under control, we came to her father's company in the city center to try to get some information. I think it's called Hawkson Trading Group, very famous! Her father is supposed to be a high-level manager there.
"Will this really work? From what I know about Nicola, even if she came back, she might not reconnect with her father. Her old identity, like yours, is considered dead on Earth. Plus, this is where her father works," Adrian objected as we stood in front of the Hawkson Trading Group building.
To be honest, I don't have high hopes for this plan either. I met Nicola's father once at a high school parents' meeting. I only remember him wearing a suit, and I can barely recall his face. I doubt I could even recognize him if I saw him now.
"But we don't have any other options! Even if she doesn't contact her father directly, she might try to reach out indirectly. We could ask if any suspicious people have been seen around the company recently," I said, not ready to give up. We might as well try since we're here and have nothing else to do. I grabbed Adrian's arm and headed towards the lobby of the building.
"Sorry, our company is closed for the day! No one is allowed to enter, no matter how important your business or personal matters are. Please come back tomorrow!" The security guard at the door stopped us from going in.
"Closing so early?" I checked my phone, surprised. It wasn't even noon yet. Since when did this country's office hours become so employee-friendly, working only half days? And it's not even a holiday today!
"We got an urgent notice from higher-ups this morning. From this afternoon until tomorrow, the city center, including the city library, is under temporary control. Except for street shops and public facilities that are approved to stay open, all office spaces are closed. The buildings must be empty, no one can stay inside," the guard explained, pointing to a notice on the door. "Almost everyone in this building has left. The police will be here soon to seal the doors. Please come back tomorrow!"
"Why?" I was stunned. This sudden change was unexpected. After the guard's reminder, we noticed that people on the surrounding streets were moving faster than usual. Everyone looked in a hurry, many shops were pulling down their shutters, and in the distance, we could see police cars with flashing lights urging people to leave quickly.