Can you stop?

Every level that one advances in the understanding of an essence releases a new power. In the case of the body level, it is the mastery of the essence itself, whereas, on the external level, one gains the core. A person's core on the external level is about two meters in radius, but as the understanding of the essence increases, the core also increases in size. The size of the core is one of the factors that are used to measure how close one is to the next level.

A person on the outer level has a core with a radius of two meters, on the material level, the core will have a radius of twenty meters, and so on, constantly multiplying the previous size by ten.

Also, if a person has more than one essence, the size of their core is the sum of the cores of all the essences. For example, a person with two essences on the outer level will have a core with a radius of four meters, and a person with one external essence and another essence on the material level will have a core with a radius of twenty-two meters.

...

'That's right!', Dehji said and then continued, 'You said your core is bigger than the bar, so at least one of your essences is from the material level.'

'Haha, you have no idea.'

Gen then heard a voice calling him, "Hey Gen, what happened here? I was drinking with the others, and suddenly the bar expanded. What's this black ball in the middle of the bar? Did you do that?", asked Raja.

And Gen replied, "Yes, I did all the things you just mentioned."

"Why did you do that? Did something happen?"

"Well ... it's a long story. You better sit down."

"Okay."

Raja sat down, and Gen then raised his hand and spoke, "Buddy, get me three drinks and two plates of snacks."

And the waiter said, "Right away."

"Three drinks? Are you expecting someone? Am I ... in the way of something?", said Raja, winking with his right eye.

Gen then asked, "What? No. Relax, you're not in the way. I'm not waiting for anyone."

"So what's with the three drinks? We're down to two here."

"It's for me. One drink was running out too fast."

"Look at that. Who knew you'd be a strong drinker, Gen. I thought you were the kind of guy who takes a few and goes crazy, hahaha."

"No way, I'm used to drinking, hahaha."

"But then, what happened here?"

"Well, let me explain ...", Gen then began to explain what had happened, from Gerald and Karin's relationship to the present moment.

When he finished explaining, the drinks and snacks arrived. Gen took one of his drinks, turned it over in one go, and then said, "Ahhh!"

Raja looked at that and then said, "You really can't judge a book by its cover, but I won't be left behind either."

Raja then took the drink to his mouth, intending to drink it all at once, but as he took a bit and tasted it in his mouth, he returned the mug to the table and said, "Gen, 'cof cof', how come you're drinking something so strong all at once?"

"Did you find it strong? I think it's fine."

"..."

"Aren't you going to drink more?"

"... I'm going to take it slowly to enjoy it."

"I see. That's a good idea. I'll do that with my other drink, too.

"Gen, can I ask you a question?"

"Yes?"

"How many of these mugs have you had?"

"Hmmm, I think four or five."

"Four or five!"

"Yeah, I know, I'm a little slow today. I guess I'm a little tired after the fight earlier."

"... Well, anyway, when do you plan to get them out of your technique?"

"Hmmm, I don't know. I don't want to get them out too soon and end up interrupting them in the middle of something."

"You have a point. How long have they been in there?"

"Hmmm, I think it's been about twenty minutes."

"Hmm, I guess you can leave them in there a little longer then. In about ten minutes, you can get them out. I think half an hour is enough time to take care of most of the business."

"True. Well, let's not stand around while we do that."

Gen then turned the other half of his drink around in his mouth and said, "Hey, buddy, give me two more and a plate of snacks."

And the waiter said, "You got it."

"Oh, hold on. Raja, you want something?"

"No, I'm good. I haven't had my drink yet."

"Okay. That's it, buddy."

Ten minutes then passed, and Gen had finished everything he had ordered and raised his hand to order more, but then, Raja said, "Hey Gen! It's been ten minutes. Get them out first, then you can order your drink."

"That's right."

Gen then stood up and went towards the circular air current that was floating. He then made the circle again with his fingers and placed it around the air current.

He then said, "Break!", and separated his fingers afterward. The moment he separated his fingers, the air current also separated.

The dome then began to disappear, and slowly it was possible to see Gerald and Karin inside it. Both were sitting, Karin had her eyes closed, and Gerald was standing next to her, watching her.

Gen then said, "Hey Gerald, Karin, how did it go? Did you guys work it out?"

Hearing Gen's voice Gerald turned to him, and said, "Gen! Help me!"

"What happened?"

"Karin stopped talking out of the blue. She's been like this for about ten minutes now! I've tried calling her several times and even shaking her, but she won't answer or move! Does this have something to do with you, Gen?! You have to do something!"

"Calm down, Gerald! This has nothing to do with me, and besides, it's not a bad thing."

"What's going on then?!"

Raja then said, "She's awakening."

and Gen said, "Yeah."

Gerald then said, "Karin is awakening? How is that possible? Nothing much happened in there. We were just talking."

Gen then said, "It doesn't matter what you were doing, Gerald. Essences are awakened when a person's understanding of something reaches a point. During your conversation, she must have understood something that helped her awaken."

And Raja said, "Why don't you tell us in more detail what happened?"

Gerald then said, "Sure.", and continued, "After Gen locked us in that dome, Karin and I started walking around trying to get to the end of it, and after a while, we started talking about what happened. She was quite angry with me at first, but as we talked, things got better, and finally, we were able to work it out."

Gen then said, "Does this mean that you are together now?"

And Gerald said, "I guess you could say that."

"Look at that. Looks like I didn't go through all this trouble for nothing. Congratulations, Gerald."

Raja then said, "Good one, Gerald. Congratulations."

And Gerald said, "Haha, thanks."

Raja then said, "You are a lucky man. Karin is really hot."

And Gen said, "Indeed. If I didn't know Lina and Miss Anna, I might have fallen in love with her."

Gerald then said, "... it's true, she is very ... hot."

And Raja said, "She's quite pretty and has a great body, just the right size. I was tempted to hit on her myself when I met her, but as I talked to her, I realized that she had a very strong personality and that I probably wouldn't get anywhere in a short time, so I decided to give up."

Gen then said, "You're right. Karin does seem to be a hard woman to win over, but you have to admit that's a good thing, too."

"Hmm, you're right. It's just that I wouldn't really have enough time to try something. If I had the time, I -"

"Hey!", Gerald said and then continued, "Can you guys stop talking about Karin?"

And Raja said, "Oops ... I'm sorry Gerald, I guess I got a little out of line."

Gen then said, "Yeah, I guess I did, too. I'm sorry, but if you think about it, you have to be happy about it. We speak so highly of her, and at the end of the day, she's your ... hmmm, what relationship are you guys in now? Are you dating?"

And Gerald said, "... We ... I don't know, I just know that we are together."

Raja then said, "That's it. What matters, in the end, is that you are together."

And Gerald said, "Yeah."

Gen then said, "Well, why don't we sit down and wait for Karin to wake up."

And Raja said, "That's a great idea."

And Gerald said, "Okay."

The three then sat down, and Gen said, "You must be thirsty after being stuck in the dome for half an hour. How about a drink?"

And Gerald said, "I think I'll pass, Gen. That's enough drinks for today, a water at most."

"Got it."

Gen then raised his hand and said, "Three drinks this way, buddy."

And the waiter said, "Right away."

Gerald then said, "Gen-"

And Gen said, "Oh yeah, see me a water too. I'm glad you remembered Gerald. I forgot about your water."

"..."

Raja then said, "I'm not drinking either, Gen."

"I know, you didn't even finish the other one. You must be full, right?"

Gerald then said, "Gen, if you knew, why did you order -", but was interrupted by Raja, who said, "Leave it alone, soon you'll understand."