Chapter 123 - Nearing The Breakthrough
At that moment, David tapped the earpiece near his ear before glancing back at Theo again.
"Your resources should arrive in no time," he said casually. "Same with some food."
Then he smiled faintly. "I’ll leave you alone now."
With that, he stepped back outside.
A moment later, the reinforced door slowly shut behind him with a heavy sound.
The entire room immediately fell silent.
As the silence set in, Theo let out a long, deep breath.
He sat down and closed his eyes, trying to recover a bit of his mental strength.
’It’s been a long day, I think I deserve this before I cultivate.’
Theo remained still for several more seconds, simply trying to listen to the silence around him.
That’s when he felt it again.
That uneasy feeling inside his chest.
’Never mind,’ he thought, grabbing his chest. ’I’ll continue cultivating right away.’
For a moment, he opened his eyes.
A familiar translucent window appeared right in front of him, displaying several lines of text.
[WYR Cooldown: 01:04:22:12]
[Daily Descent Cooldown: 01:08:22:12]
[Punishment Days: 2]
As he stared at the top cooldown, his eyes narrowed slightly.
’Can I make it in that time?’
Theo was sure he didn’t need much more time before he could break through. But one day and a few hours might be cutting it... a little short.
"No," he muttered, glancing down. "I can do this."
"I’ll just have to continue and sleep as little as possible."
With that, he closed his eyes and focused back on his core.
Time slowly passed by inside the protected room.
Theo remained seated in the center, drawing mana threads out of his affinities one after another.
The bronze spots on his core weren’t even visible anymore. Yet, he could tell there were still quite a few spots left.
As he cultivated, his phone lit up beside him.
A message from Owen popped up on the screen.
"We’re heading home now. Will be hosting something whenever you’re back."
Another message lit up the screen, this time from his mother.
"Congratulations, Theo. We are super proud of you!"
"Your father lost his voice cheering for you :D"
"Whenever you come back and you’re ready for it, we’ll host a celebration party."
"We’re proud of you."
Finally, another message popped up on the screen.
This one wasn’t from anyone.
"Low battery!"
"Shutting off now..."
Then his screen went dark.
After nearly nine hours of cultivation, a soft beeping noise echoed out from the door.
Theo’s eyes snapped open right away.
’My resources,’ he thought. ’They must be here.’
He walked over to the reinforced door and opened it quietly.
The moment he did, he raised his eyebrows.
David stood outside, two metallic cases by his feet as he held his phone and a tray of food in his hands.
"Yeah, yeah, I saw that too," he said with a tired chuckle. "No, don’t say things like that. You’ll increase my blood pressure again!"
A loud, childlike voice echoed softly from the phone.
"Yes, Daniel, I’ll be home soon," he continued. "Just take care of mom for me, alright?"
A large, warm smile covered David’s face as he spoke.
Only, that’s when he noticed Theo standing there.
"Oh— one second," he said into the phone.
He lowered the device slightly before handing over the container.
"I ordered you some food," he said, still all smiles. "Trust me, it’s from the best kitchen around."
Theo accepted it before glancing at the still-active phone screen.
A young boy’s face was visible on it for a split second, eyes practically glowing with excitement.
"IT’S REALLY HIM—"
The call immediately cut off as David awkwardly moved the phone away.
"...Kids," he muttered, coughing lightly.
Theo couldn’t help but chuckle slightly.
Only after David ended the call completely did Theo suddenly pause.
"...Have you not gone home yet?" he asked without thinking.
David blinked once before laughing.
"I got the chance to personally guard the champion himself," he said casually. "Of course I had to take it."
Then he shrugged.
"My son would never forgive me otherwise."
Theo fell silent for a moment.
A strange, unfamiliar warmth stirred inside his chest that almost made him feel uncomfortable.
He wasn’t used to this kind of attention at all and wasn’t even sure what to do or even say.
For a brief moment, silence fell between the two of them again.
The middle-aged man simply kept smiling.
"Also," he said, picking up two metallic cases from the ground. "These were the rewards I was ordered to bring you."
Theo snapped out of his daze and quickly smiled.
David brought the briefcases inside without another word.
"Thank you," Theo said quietly.
David waved his free hand dismissively.
"Don’t mention it," he replied casually. "I’ll be here for as long as you’re here."
With that, he slowly pulled the reinforced door shut behind him.
Click!
And Theo was left alone in silence again.
For a moment, he just stood there. Then he shook his head lightly.
’What can I even say?’ he thought, glancing at the tray of food.
It was filled to the brim with all kinds of meat, vegetables, and fries.
Only after seeing the food did he realize how hungry he actually was. He hadn’t eaten a single thing after the tournament after all.
Theo devoured the food within minutes.
Then he quickly returned to cultivating without even looking at the resources he’d received. The only thing on his mind was the time that was slowly running out.
Like that, hours flew by.
Theo remained inside the room for most of the time, only going out to pick up the food David prepared for him.
The rest of the time, he cultivated almost nonstop.
By the time night fell, he warned David not to disturb him, as he’d be attempting his breakthrough soon.
Then, he continued cultivating through the entire night.
Finally—
He opened his eyes again.
’My core... it’s ready.’
A translucent screen opened up in front of him right away. Several lines appeared on it, but Theo was only interested in one.
[WYR Cooldown: 00:01:12:44]
’I’ll break through in an hour.’