The two orange-robed figures stand in front of the same opening in the pyramid-shaped structure.

My initial plan was to walk in myself, and notify Monk that I'd be bringing company, but before I even get close enough to the fortress, a third head emerges from the dark hallway and the kind face motions for all of us to come in.

He holds up three fingers from deep inside the tunnel, then presses one to his lips.

I nod, understanding the message; all three of us approach without saying a word. I take the small silver container out of my item storage and into the inner part of my robe before we walk in, guessing the pills inside may be useful later.

Two light gasps escape from Maria and Abby's lips as they enter the mouth of the walkway. The absence of mana can be a surprise, and the disappearance of our concealment items is even more of a rush, even though I warned them and briefly described the experience back when we were training last night.

"Don't worry, it'll be fine."

Last time I entered here, I felt that abrupt drained feeling too, but this time walking in, I can feel the dense Qi stores seeping from the stone and floating in the air, already starting to gather into my body as I walk forward.

With an already full and nearly overflowing core of Qi, the high amounts in the air feel warm and soothing, like I'm walking around with an ultra lightweight heated feather blanket.

Monk leads us into the tunnel, still not saying a single word. He presses his hand against the back wall, and it glows white with Qi before all 4 of us walk through and it closes with a light click.

Monk turns to face me, nods, eyes Maria up and down, nods, then looks at Abby for longer than expected before turning back to me.

"I was expecting you to bring the ice user along, but who is this? Another soul energy user I suppose?"

I quickly respond.

"Yes, these are some of my teammates. Whoever my enemies may be, they will fight with me."

Monk doesn't speak for a few seconds but nods and continues down the spiraling staircase, motioning us to follow.

"This is good, I will teach them too. We've already been spotted together, so there's no turning back now. If they learn Qi control half as fast as you, they will be forces to be reckoned with in a matter of days."

I smirk inwardly and follow, hearing sighs of relief come from both Abby and Maria's mouths as they follow close behind me.

We walk through the cafeteria, and many younger men in robes greet Monk as we pass, but very quickly we make it to the same training room I practiced in last time I came.

Monk stands in the open black-tiled room, while the three of us stand near the table and gear station, listening to what he has to say.

"First of all, I'd like to congratulate you on your match against the Ghoul last night. I watched very closely. It seems you only need to roughly double your base of Qi stores to break through its soul energy."

He crosses his arms.

"At the normal rate of a natural cultivator's Qi gathering, if you sit down and start now, you'll achieve that in just 50 years."

My eyes widen as he starts to laugh.

"I'm messing with you. I can tell you've leveled up quite a bit even since the last time we met, and your mana control has increased drastically as well. This kind of progression is not normal."

I nod as he continues.

"Although it doesn't directly contribute to your Qi base, having a stronger body, and more experience controlling powerful energy allows the user to refine and gather their Qi faster."

I finally reply, looking at Abby and Maria.

"So that's why I progressed so fast when we first started? Meaning, these two will probably grow at a similar rate?"

"Yes, to a certain extent. Everyone has a natural talent and pace of growth, but if you're already strong, you will grow faster at the start. Making a stronger body and pathways is like you're expanding the potential for your core to store Qi. Not only in your physical capacity, but also in your mind. When there's more space for potential stores, the rate of growth tends to heighten as well."

I smile, thinking to myself that this MCP absorption perk is paying off in more ways than one. What would take most hunters days, weeks, or possibly months to absorb through potions or stones can be completed with a simple press of a status button using my skill. Also, with rare items that contain lots of MP, if there's any negative backlash on the body or mind, Abby's restore skill can heal anything almost instantly.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Monk responds, as if he knows exactly what I'm thinking.

"You can't just power level in dungeons to raise your Qi capacity. You still will need extensive Qi sparring training, real battles against monsters like the Ghouls to really go all out for the kill, and of course time spent gathering Qi can't be rushed."

The room is silent.

"Even though I raised my level to almost 700, pushing my natural body's limits and increasing my capacity to hold mana, it still took me over a decade to master Qi to the point at where I am now. That being said, my natural talent was one of the best in my generation. It is clear the 3 of you have some uniqueness to your natural talents too."

I think about his words and inwardly recognize they're correct. I awakened a unique skill, and so did Abby as far as I'm aware. There are many healers in this world, but I've never heard of anyone that can restore full body parts and training fatigue instantly.

Maria too, awakened with a base stat that raises her mana four times faster per level up than the average user. Maybe we do have the talent to refine our Qi fast like Monks. But still, 10 years is far too long to wait.

He speaks up.

"With that being said, you two come here if you'd like to be awakened."

We all nod and take off our useless heavy gear and place it on the table, leaving all three of us in light casual clothing. With a skip in their steps, both Abby and Maria come to the center of the training room.

Monk instructs them to sit on the floor in the lotus position, then motions for me to come closer.

"Would you like to do the awakening yourself?"

I raise an eyebrow.

"Is it safe for me to perform it with no practice?"

He smiles.

"Probably safer than if I were to perform it myself, actually. The more the person being awakened trusts the Qi user awakening them, the more efficient the process is. If you were paying attention when I awakened you, I only filled up your core to about 40% capacity, that was the maximum I was able to connect with. With training and Qi pills, you were able to bring it up to full yourself."

I nod, standing next to him, behind both Abby and Maria sitting on the floor.

"So how do I do it?"

"Remember how you imbued Qi into your blade like it was an extension of yourself?"

I picture the wave of energy that rushed through my body into my blade while fighting the monsters in the arena.

"Yeah."

"Well you'll have to make your friends here an extension of yourself as well. Imbuing them with Qi, then releasing the bond and allowing them to retain the energy you gift them. Your control is already far past the ability of many Inner high-ranking disciples here, I have no doubt you can manage a successful awakening. It's only up to them to accept it."

Maria's voice replies to this immediately.

"I'll accept it. I trust you, and wouldn't ask for any better person to awaken me."

I nod, walking closer as Abby speaks too.

"Me next, I trust you'll do a fine job."

"Understood."

I place my hand on Maria's back and we synchronize our breathing. I feel the air going in and out of her body, then match this rhythm to the flow of the Qi in my core.

Slowly, I begin to picture my hand connecting directly to her back and the warm trickling sensation of Qi rolling down my arm flows right through her. It's as if the thin shirt between my hand and her back is not even there.

Once the first trickle rolls through, I let a stream trickle in two, then a wave.

I can feel and control the energy now flowing into Maria's body. As easily as it flows in, it flows out as well. Waves of Qi circulate through her body, and back into mine.

After a few cycles through, small amounts of the warm energy find a resting point in her core right below her stomach.

She doesn't move a muscle, and I continue to fill her body with Qi until I hit a limit.

It feels similar to my sword, like the natural saturation point is met. It's possible for me to force more in, but I instinctively feel as if there's no reason to do so. It would just overflow and leak out without being used.

At this, I slowly take a step back, and release my hand away from her body.

A wave of exhaustion comes over me as I feel the connection sever, and I lose over 90% of my Qi in a single instant.

My body feels cold, and I shiver as the shock from breaking the link washes over me.

I feel a bit dizzy and light-headed but catch myself before falling as Maria rises from her sitting position practically glowing with power.

Her eyes are wide, and she can't stop staring at her open palms in front of her face.

In the same moment, it feels like the room is closing in on me, and a ringing sound gets louder and louder the longer I wait. It feels like my mouth is dry, but I'm not thirsty. My stomach wants to cave in on itself, but I'm not hungry. I'm in pain all over, but there are no injuries. Wincing, and not wanting to deter from Maria's beautiful awakening moment, I slowly walk over to the table with all our gear and grab a Qi pill from the silver container.

I grit my teeth and gulp it down to feel a rush of warm energy fill my body again.

I take a gasp of fresh air, and the ringing stops while the room expands outward back to its original form in my perception.

I grab a second pill from the container and place it in my pants pocket, whispering under my breath.

"Note to self, never run out of Qi..."

I let out a nervous chuckle and walk back over to see Maria still in awe of the power system she can now see so clearly.

It wasn't my first time sensing new power when I awakened Qi. I already had a few eye-opening Demonic Energy experiences that showed me there's more than mana in this world. I guess if it was my first time seeing something like this, I'd be pretty lost in its glory too.

Monk steps closer to me as I get ready to awaken Abby next.

"I didn't realize you'd manage to let out so much Qi. Her natural capacity must be equal or even higher than yours. I would have warned you if I knew you'd sink so low."

I nod and reply.

"It's fine. I should have expected it anyway."

I place my hand on Abby's back and take a deep breath.

"Ready?"

I feel her breath rise up and down.

"Ready."

After synchronizing and allowing my Qi into Abby in the same manner, I connect with her and let my energy flow.

Upon our initial link, at the first trickle, I can already tell Abby has a smaller capacity than Maria's, but it's not by much. I'm still able to fill her core to the brim using up almost 80% of my power.

As I release my connection, the same severed link hits me like a wave, but I immediately take the Qi pill in my pocket to not let it take over.

I stand up straight as Abby gets to her feet as well, looking down at her hands, then looking at me, Maria, Monk, and the entire room with a dazed expression.

I smile at them, then turn to Monk.

"They're having a bit of a different reaction than me."

"Yes, the energy wasn't as foreign to them because it came from you. Your instant exposure was a bit more intense. Still, even if it was calmer they handled it well. We can spar while they get used to the new energy."