TIT Chapter 11: Synthesis

Every morning, just before sunrise, the Rongu Tribe got up without fail to conduct their morning workout. Every member, both young and old got up. They would then separate themselves into their respective strength groups. The younger ones would focus on exercises that emphasised on stamina while the older ones would focus on strength.

Of course, there were exceptions to this rule, especially for outstanding individuals like Ode. Given his surprising revival and tribulation the day before, many did not expect for him to turn up for the workout that morning. However, to the surprise of many, he appeared at the corner and sat there while staring at the rest of the tribe.

Respect for his hardworking attitude arose within the hearts of many of the tribe members present. Although he was clearly unable to participate, he still bothered to turn up for the workout. It seemed that Ode remained as humble as ever.

However, it was unfortunate that this “Ode” was not having the same thought processes as the rest of the tribe as he continued observing.

“It seems that to continue staying here I need to be able to achieve that much strength so as to not arouse any suspicion from the others, huh? I wonder if this body is even able to do that much in the first place…” Jie Jun thought to himself. Although he was leaving in a month, he still had to get used to this world first. Sadly, Ode’s memories were all jumbled up and Jie Jun was only able to grasp about 40-50% of the information in his head. After observing for half an hour or so, Jie Jun realised that there was no “Cultivation manual” or secret techniques being employed during the exercises and that this was purely a workout for the body. It seemed that to refine the body, more than the normal amount of discipline and mental fortitude was needed. No wonder the amount of people that ascended to the second level was so little. Even amidst the tribe of about 3 thousand, there were only about 8 people that managed to hit the second level of body refining, the leader included.

If Jie Jun did not know any other ways of cultivating he would have been in despair, however, he did know! In his travels to the other worlds, cultivation was indeed a thing! It was possible that this tribe simply did not have the means to access such precious documents, that’s all! But, this could also indicate that maybe this world did not allow people to cultivate? After all, if he referenced back to his own original world, there were no such thing as cultivators in the first place, right?

Going down this line of questioning thought, Jie Jun found himself more and more confused and less sure of his own knowledge. Regardless, he needed to travel outside of the tribe. He needed to see the world to know what he could and could not do! Until then, he had to find some way to strengthen himself with less difficulty because he could not stand doing the exercises that the tribesmen were doing. Continuously lifting logs of heavy weight to increase his strength? There must be a better way to get stronger aside from these primitive methods!

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As the afternoon came, the people dispersed from their workout as they went about their own jobs. Normally, some of the adults would go off to hunt while the youths would play or explore the forests. However, some of the exceptional youth like Ode were supposed to go. Fortunately, his recent revival came again as another excuse to get out of work! For Jie Jun had something much better to do in his spare time! Research weaponry!

Ignoring the other youth as they left to play, he grabbed his own spear along with some equipment and went off to a secluded spot in the forests that he recalled from Ode’s memories.

It was a serene spot, with great towering trees surrounding an empty patch of grass. With little bits of sunlight shining through the gaps of the leaves, it was the perfect spot to relax in. Confirming that no one had followed him, Jie Jun ambled to the centre of this patch and sat down with his spear across his lap. Pulling out a bunch of rocks he had found along the way here, Jie Jun emptied his entire bag as well. Vines, rocks and animal bones of various sizes tumbled all over the floor as he mused to himself how he should begin.

The Rongu tribe had a very rudimentary understanding of weapons. His own spear had been nothing but a piece of sharp bone wrapped to a long branch with a vine. Jie Jun did not have much time left under the protection of the tribe, so he had to ensure that he was at least in possession of a reliable weapon before he left.

Unlike his original world, the animal bones here were much stronger than ordinary rocks so he decided to use those as substitute for metal, a rare resource in this region. Taking out a rock, he began to slowly grind an animal bone against it. For starters, he took out a Blood Bear’s spinal cord for grinding. Although the meat was extremely precious to the tribe, the bone was not regarded as such and hence even youths like Ode could acquire it easily. When he first started grinding it, the stone actually showed signs of breaking apart, so he could only lower his strength and go at it slowly.

What Jie Jun didn’t know was that, the tribe did have knowledge of proper weaponry, but with no access to the legendary “metal” they gave up hope on producing quality weapons, focussing instead on making disposable ones with what material they could find.

With his willpower boosted by the fact that he could finally do as he wished and not be stuck in the ground, he continuously grinded the bone for 2 hours, which allowed it to slowly form the shape of a spearhead. Taking a break, Jie Jun plopped on the ground and looked into the sky, wondering if what he was doing was right or efficient.

Then, a shadow formed on his face just as he closed his eyes. Startled, he rolled off immediately, and grabbed his makeshift spearhead as a deterrent against the intruder of his haven. A girl smiled as she stared at the scared “Ode”, seemingly happy to have caught him off-guard.

“What are you doing Ode?”

“None of your business, Imani. Leave me alone.”

The tanned girl stared at him inquisitively, intent on discovering his purpose for being alone. Ever since they were younger, Imani was always used to teasing Ode so Jie Jun instinctively felt a sense of annoyance from seeing her face.

“Alright, Mr “All-great because I survived a tribulation”, don’t get so cranky. Let me see what’s that in your hand!”

“No! It’s something I’ve worked on for a quite a while. I am not going to let you have it!”

“Don’t be so worked up! Just let me see!”

Imani then sped up suddenly, attempting to grab the spearhead from Jie Jun’s hands. Jie Jun, obviously, wouldn’t let her get her way and jumped out of the way. The game of tag continued for a while before they both stopped, panting as they sat on the ground.

Jie Jun asked in a frustrated manner, “Why do you have to be so intrusive!?”

Imani was shocked by his outburst, and her eyes became cloudy as she stared downwards.

She mumbled, “I just wanted to see if you were ok… It wasn’t meant to really disturb you. If that’s so important then I’ll just leave…”

Just before she left, Jie Jun felt a pain in his heart and relented, throwing the spearhead over to her. He had almost forgotten how shocking it was to survive a tribulation. For her to show her concern in such a manner wasn’t wrong.

Is what he thought.

“Oh, it’s quite sharp isn’t it?” Imani asked, her face instantly beaming as she probed the spearhead against her finger. “Since you threw it over, that means it must be a gift for the lovely me! Thanks Ode!” Then, she skipped off back into the direction of the tribe.

Instantly, Jie Jun knew, he got tricked again.

“Sigh. When will I stop being scammed…”

As he sighed to himself, he noticed his menu suddenly reappear from nothingness. However, this time, all his bars were at an all-time low and a new option appeared on his menu while the rest were all crossed-out, “Synthesis”.