The Pill

Following him, I got up and we exited the office. The chieftain led me into the heart of the castle. We went down several levels into the ground. Each level kept getting more and more basic. The last level was dimly lit. Harold lit a torch and the flame shone radiantly. The walls had a soft yellow glow to illuminate them. The walls and floor were made out of humid stones. The structure was so old that the panels were covered with moss. The sound of water droplets hitting the floor echoed throughout the basement. Step by step, we ventured deeper. 

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"The secret treasure chamber." 

After ten minutes of walking, we reached a giant rotten wooden door. 

"Very few have been here, so consider yourself lucky," he said before pushing the wooden panel.

A creaking sound was produced as the door swiveled open. The inside was pitch black and quiet. You could hear a pin drop. We set foot into the abyss. The chamber was filled with a plethora of objects ranging from weapons to bottles. The one thing that everything had in common was a thick layer of dust covering them. In the center of the room, there was a large cube covered with a large piece of fabric. The box was twice the height of the chieftain. 

"What's in there?" I asked.

"You do not need to concern yourself with that. Do not uncover it either," he replied.

His eyes scanned one of the numerous shelves before stopping on a simple looking jar. He reached out and grabbed it. His hand twisted the lid before opening it. A pungent smell permeated the air.

"What is it?" I asked.

"This is a special pill. When used by an orc, it can boost your physical abilities that is it improves your body cultivation."

"What if a human takes it?" I asked.

"That I cannot be sure. No human has ever taken it. You would be the first to try. The only guarantee that I can give you is that you will not die," he said.

"Do you want to take the risk?" he asked.

"Yes I do."

"The only advice that I can give you is that when you swallow the pill, keep all of the energy it releases inside you, but do not restrict it to your energy core. Let it flow around your body," he said.

He handed the jar over to me and we exited the treasure chamber. I kept staring at the pill and my mind raced as I tried to fathom what would happen. The chieftain must have noticed my behavior.

"Are you sure about this? If you don't want it, I can give you something else."

"No, I'm sure. I will do whatever it takes to get stronger, even if my body is at risk," I replied to which the chieftain simply smiled.

"I forgot to mention this, but you will be attending the advanced class at the academy. I think that Grald has already explained what this entails," he said.

Harold led me to the main entrance where he saw me off. The butler opened the door and I left the castle.

"If only you could see how strong your son is becoming. You would be proud," the chieftain said to himself with an emotional face.

The streets were bustling and I had to squeeze through hordes of orcs to reach the house. I still had a few days left before the start of school so I had to train as hard as I could. I missed the morning session, so I had to compensate in the afternoon session. I planned to ingest the pill after the dinner with Ralph's family. Jasper met me halfway through my trip and we went to our training area.

"What did the chieftain give you?" he asked.

"He gave me a pill."

"What pill?"

"It's a pill that I have to put into Quincy's food. It will help him grow his brain," I jokingly replied after which Jasper began laughing.

"Honestly though, what pill is it?" he asked.

"I don't know. Can you tell me?" I asked as I pulled out the jar.

Jasper examined the pill with a careful eye but even he did not know what it was. He could only guess that it was something valuable.

"I know that if the level of my energy core exceeds my body cultivation, it can cause my death, but what if it's the other way around?" I asked.

"Nothing will happen. Your body cultivation can surpass the level of your energy core. I am a good example of this. My body cultivation is a level higher than my energy core," Jasper replied.

The training session was even more grueling than usual. After my fight with Dino, they must have decided to kick the intensity up a notch. I was not going to complain though. 

Jasper used his stick to show me basic combinations with the sword. The energy that he imbued into the stick was so strong that I could not even cut it with my sword. He showed me how to integrate defensive maneuvers into my fighting style. We also did not slack off on regular martial arts as I could not always rely on a sword. Diablo also gave me a few pointers while I was practicing. Those were minute details that were happening inside of my body, such as which muscles were exerting more force.

I was sitting on the ground trying to catch my breath. My body was covered in sweat and my mouth was parched. When we finished with training, I let Jasper know of my plans for dinner. I did not want the orcs to worry about my whereabouts.

"I don't know if you forgot, but you will hunt this week," Jasper said.

"Huh?"

It was then that I remembered that Grald instructed me to hunt this week to gain more experience. That had already escaped my mind because of all the crazy things that have been happening lately.

"As you have already fought a lion, today you will not have to do it. You will start tomorrow," the orc said.