— It was already morning, with the sun's rays waking Kaelen, who was still asleep. He realized that Oberon was no longer by his side, but he didn't worry too much about it. He got up to go to the bathroom and found the person he hadn't seen lying on the floor —
"What are you doing lying on the floor?"
"I'm never sleeping with you again."
— After that brief exchange, the two washed up before heading downstairs, where they found Krax and Elena having breakfast —
"Did you guys start without us?"
— Oberon said, noticing two buttered croissants on the table for Krax and a cream pastry for Elena, who was drinking coffee while reading the newspaper. Oberon and Kaelen took a seat as the waitress brought them the menu. Oberon was surprised when he saw it; it wasn't the dishes themselves that surprised him, but the words—he didn't recognize the letters. He had never seen them before, yet he still understood them. In that moment, he realized: how was it possible that, as a foreigner, he could perfectly understand the language of the tower? And the same in reverse—how could the others understand him? Questions he'd once again added to his list. He was already used to it and simply went about his morning—
"I'll just have a hot chocolate. Do you want anything, Kaelen?"
"I don't know any of these dishes. What do you recommend?"
"Can you eat chocolate?"
"What is chocolate?"
"Well, I'll take that as a yes. I'm not responsible if you die from theobromine. Two hot chocolates, please, waitress."
"Of course, I'll bring them to you in a few minutes."
— That was the last thing the waitress said before taking the menus and going to prepare the orders —
"Hot chocolate? Seriously?"
— Elena said, somewhat confused by Oberon's tastes —
"Speak well of hot chocolate."
"I thought you'd drink coffee, given your personality."
"I used to, but when I almost broke a burette in the lab, I stopped drinking it. That thing was worth a fortune, and besides, I don't like the bitterness."
"Your tastes are way too childish."
"What do you mean?"
"The bitterness of a good coffee reflects the bitterness of life."
"Well, your life must be pretty tasteless then."
— Elena set the newspaper aside; Oberon's response seemed to have hit her hard enough to make her angry, but before she could say anything, the waitress arrived with Obi's orders, handing him and Kaelen a cup of hot chocolate —
"— Sigh — Nothing better than a good hot chocolate to start the day."
"Wow, it's delicious; the flavor is quite appealing."
"Those words bring a smile to my face, my friend. Well, now that I have time, I wanted to ask you about the money you gave me yesterday, Krax."
"It's true that I said I'd answer your questions; you must have felt a tingling sensation when you held it."
— Krax held out his hand for Oberon to give him one, and Oberon handed it over without a word —
"The coin is called a Quiste, and as you might suspect, it's directly linked to Malice."
"I knew it—that's why I felt that tingling sensation."
"Yes, to be exact, it's crystallized vitality. It's used as currency for transactions across the different floors, and for the Transcendents, it can also be used to increase their Malice reserve."
I suspected that too. It's strange to think that holding these stones is like holding lives—whether human or not.
"But how did they manage to do this? Crystallizing vitality—I can't even begin to imagine it."
"A technique discovered by the world of Murim."
"Murim? Like in Chinese stories?"
"I don't know what China is, but knowing you, that must be it. Although they were the founders of the crystallization technique, other worlds also found a way to do it, and the fact that it has various uses has naturally made it the currency of the tower, with the weight of the Quiste being valued more than the quantity for transactions."
— Krax handed the coin back to him, and Obi took it, examining it with an almost childlike fascination —
"And how do you absorb it?"
"You ingest it and digest it using your own malice, but directed inward."
"Well, I'll try it tonight; I'd like to refine my throws a bit."
— Breakfast continued peacefully, each of them taking a moment of quiet in their thoughts. After finishing his hot chocolate, Obi went out to the backyard; it was a small space, but it was enough to practice his throws properly —
It's a beautiful day; the temperature is perfect—that won't bother me.
— He got into position, his feet planted firmly on the green grass. He quickly drew a knife from his back and threw it at the wooden wall in front of him. It was a mediocre throw; instead of the knife flying straight, it just spun around on itself. That result slightly disappointed Obi —
"This won't be as easy as I imagined."
What's the best way to throw it?
— Oberon thought, picking up his knife from the ground to examine it —
Well, if I want it to go straight, I should slide it rather than just throw it.
— With that logic, he put his theory into practice, but just as he tried to slide it, Oberon cut himself with his own knife —
"Ugh, this is going to take a while"
— Oberon sighed. Not letting his wounds get to him, he kept practicing his knife throws with his theory in mind, and he kept at it until dusk, when Kaelen approached —
"Are you done yet? Elena asked if you wanted me to buy you some food."
— Oberon was breathing heavily, and his hands were bloody, the latter of which Kaelen noticed —
"Are you crazy? Did you really have to go that far?"
"Repetition is what builds a person."
Well, even if I say that, it's true that what I'm doing is excessive, especially since getting an infection from a wound in a medieval-inspired world is dangerous, but my physical condition is driving me to despair.
"In any case, I'm done now, and I'm pretty hungry."
— Oberon picked up his knives from the floor and went inside with Kaelen, who seemed concerned about his friend's wounds. In front of Obi, Krax and Elena were already seated at the table with their plates. Upon seeing Oberon's wounds, Krax simply stood up to take the bandages from Elena's bag; she didn't seem to mind Krax's action. They disinfected Obi's wounds with alcohol; he seemed to be in pain, which led him to bandage the wounds himself. After that, they sat down to eat, each with their own plate, all paid for with Elena's money —
"You overdid it in training" — said Krax —
"Yeah, it's just that every time I threw one, I was sure the next one would turn out better, which got me stuck in a loop."
"Did you at least succeed?" — Elena asked as she ate —
"Not a single one. How long until we don't have to go to Fantasis?"
"A week and a half. By then, the connection between the ninth floor and the fourth floor—the Emperor's floor—will open. That gives you time to practice."
— After those words, Elena went back to her books, and she stayed that way until everyone finished their meal, leaving their empty plates behind to go to their rooms. Oberon, who didn't want to sleep with Kaelen again, forgot to ask the other two to switch partners, leaving the bed to Kaelen. He sat down on the wooden floor, pulling a Quiste out of his bag —
"Well, let's give it a try."