The Dreamer's Epilogue-Chapter 31: Way of the Wind
Chapter 31 – Way of the Wind
The night passed swiftly, the pale disk-like sun worming its way back to its rightful spot.
Emrys woke up refreshed, inwardly thankful that he didn’t walk through other people’s dreams. Only then, he realized that he had acquired another fear.
A fear he didn’t have any solutions for, and doubted a solution even existed. He had just obtained a Gift and was still new to all this, but based on what his Gift could do...
...Emrys feared that no remedy was available for him in this matter.
’If all Gifts are like these, then it’s not a surprise they said it’s a curse.’ Emrys thought, sitting at a corner of a wide open courtyard of the tribe.
The Tistis tribesmen walked back and forth around him, all of them giving him a respectful nod and a smile before going on their way.
It seemed last night’s events crumbled the icy barriers between them. Added to the water and food available, they were certainly grateful.
Still, if there was one thing that somehow unnerved Emrys, it was the knowing look and smile of some young girls trotting dandily in front of him.
He remembered them. They were the ones laughing at him when Meadow — was that truly her name? Emrys found it a strange one — couldn’t stop looking at him, making him blush like a virgin boy.
Well, he was a virgin.
’I truly embarrassed myself.’ He almost smacked himself, but stopped at the last minute.
He shook his head, ’Focus, Em.’
Emrys breathed in through his nose, his chest sinking inward, the air around him slipping through his nose, coursing through his body.
The air inside the Tower was different. It was made of oxygen as all knew it, but also of the essence of GeumGeum.
So when Emrys sucked the air inside, he welcomed inside his depths at the same time GeumGeum.
His eyes widened briskly, feeling the GeumGeum dispersing, going unruly through his body.
He immediately coughed, breaking his inhale. The coughing lasted for a few seconds, spit flying out his mouth, before Emrys felt a gentle hand press his back, bringing his furious cough to a merciful end.
"It’s not, Climber Frost, how you absorb GeumGeum." The voice of Healer sounded behind him.
Emrys froze at first, before his body relaxed when recognition flashed in his brain.
Embarrassed, he turned his head just enough to see the pale, eyebrows-frowning face of Healer.
Wiping the trickle of sweat on his forehead with the back of his hand, he spoke:
"That I managed to notice through this attempt." He tried to lighten the mood, but Healer was not the jovial type.
She only grunted, expression unchanged. Her hand was still on his back, making Emrys finally sense the peaceful feeling emanating from the touch.
"You are doing it like..." Healer continued, frowning deeper, "in a strange way. As if you are not a human, but a beast. Where did you learn this?"
Emrys’s heart skipped a beat, "Learn what?"
Her voice was edged with impatience, "To absorb GeumGeum in a way beasts do. I will go further, even, and say like a reptile."
He didn’t know how he did it, but Emrys managed to keep his face from falling apart, and let fear paint it.
He didn’t even realize that the memories he absorbed from the killing of lizards influenced him at this point. He was doing things he was not even aware of; things he was not supposed to know.
That thought made Emrys feel like falling apart. He clenched his jaw tight, ’No...this is bad.’
At this rate, he would...what would he even be?
Once again, Emrys reaffirmed his thoughts, ’I won’t kill.’ He said stubbornly, ’I won’t kill.’
For to him, killing meant losing himself.
"Forget about the question. You don’t look ready to share it with me. There is a way to absorb and control GeumGeum inside your body in a human way." Healer said, her voice taking a teacher-like tone, causing Emrys to snap back to the current situation.
"Without it, even if you can properly use your skills, it will be inefficient and you won’t last in a long fight."
He shook his head, breathing in and out, then listened carefully; the surroundings disappeared into a blur. Right there, only Healer’s touch and her voice mattered to him.
Instinctively, Healer smiled at the sight, noticing his focus.
Emrys had this unnerving ability to focus on one thing and leave everything else behind. That was why he was the best friend of many girls, but never the boyfriend.
He would listen to you, give you all his attention as if you were the only one that mattered in the whole world. He was always entirely with the person he talked to.
Healer experienced that feeling, and her face eased a bit. She continued, the lingering reluctance she had over what she was going to do disappearing.
"You have helped us in protecting us and providing water and food." She said, "And yesterday, you respected our tradition and enjoyed it with us."
"It’s only nat—!"
"That’s why I will teach this Absorption Method of the Tistis." Her voice was solemn, "It’s called Way of the Wind. Don’t teach it to anyone else."
Right at that instant,
DING!
[NEW ACHIEVEMENT! Lovely Boy!]
[You actually managed to get the acknowledgment of a Tistis tribeswoman — these peace loving but strict annoying fellows — and obtained their Absorption Method. It’s something few could achieve. How high is your charm, man? Are you a Princess?]
[Reward: Tistis’s Wind Listener Tattoo (Exclusive Tribe Tattoo)]
Emrys was startled by the notifications for a moment but focused back instantly.
"Will," he said, voice subtly excited, "it require a skill slot?"
Emrys sensed Healer shaking her head, "No." She said, "Absorption Methods are different. They are in their own category. Are you willing or not?"
"Of course, yes." Emrys rapidly said.
"Then focus on the pathway the GeumGeum takes inside your body with my help. Feel it, remember it, then try to do the same."
Emrys nodded, focusing entirely on the feeling of her hand. With his passive skill, GeumGeum Perception, the action was easier than he initially imagined.
Healer nodded, pleased, "Now feel the air ruffling your skin. Can you feel how they brush gently against it, but then a little bit harder?"
"...yes." Emrys answered, his mind in a daze.
"Anchor these sensations inside your brain, and don’t forget them. The best way to use the Way of the Wind method is to use your GeumGeum just like how wind flows around you. Be one with the Wind."
Healer halted for a heartbeat,
"Do you understand me?"
"I do."
"Now do what you have been told."
Emrys obeyed.
Secluded from the rest, Healer guided Emrys in his manipulation of GeumGeum. The first time was awkward — mainly because of his disturbing habit to use the lizard absorption method instinctively — but Healer was astonished to see how fast and swiftly Emrys was understanding the process.
By the time the sun was at its hottest, at midday, Emrys was proficient enough to finally, 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
[You have learned an Absorption Method: Way of the Wind (Mortal Self rank)]
[NEW ACHIEVEMENT!]
—End of Chapter 31—
