Chapter 7: Life 13, Age 16, Martial Disciple 1
“I should have seen that one coming,” I said in resignation.
Back in my tiny house at the beginning of the month, I was feeling a bit depressed.
That time was significantly worse. The urges seemed to multiply after I hit level 5. Everything I did seemed perfectly reasonable in the moment, but as soon as I was back, it was obvious how idiotic I had been.
So, what was it? What was happening? There was no question it was connected to cultivation, but was there something else? There could have also been something external, like a poison or drug in the food that was affecting me.
In the end, would that matter? I was being targeted because I was rushing my cultivation. How didn’t matter. External factor or not, if I rushed to level 5, that bastard would make me fight. Even if I could control my mind enough to say ‘no,’ I doubted he would accept it, and if I fought, I died.
On this path, I could only survive a month. Constant death, one month after another. That wasn’t the kind of life I wanted. As Martial Disciple 5, I could net 15 credits each run, but no gains would be worth that kind of endless torture.
Even if I did pursue that path, reaching level 6 in a month would take years of practice. I was reaching the limit of what I could learn. So, the only gain would be 15 credits.
I needed to find a new path. What were my options? Make the affinity boost permanent? That would boost my income, but it wouldn’t get at the root of the problem. All it would do would be slightly changing the economics.
Change it up? Go with a different affinity? Maybe, but there were disciples representing all five basic affinities, and no one received any special treatment. Going with a different affinity didn’t seem like it would change my situation.