A month has passed.
Meridan and I were reading through a book that discussed Ouro theory.
Specifically what it was.
Ouro is the essence of life. A mix between external energy from the world and internal energy from your core. Your internal energy was what allowed a user to manipulate Ouro.
But external energy is what allows a user to enhance their internal energy. That means meditation is a valid method of gaining strength.
It also explains why Meridian was so much stronger than me. He meditated and compounded his strength.
While I relied on my reserves from birth.
Basically, Meridian was plugged into the wall while I ran on batteries. Very big, but finite batteries.
I sighed deeply.
Another thing is that the seals the dragon put over my core have to be broken in order for me to even begin to see the benefits of meditation.
That's because they limit the amount of energy coming in just as much as they limit energy going out.
But breaking the seals will be painful. The sudden influx of so much energy will be like getting fried from the inside out.
I slammed the book shut with a frown.
I was nerfed to all hell and back. And the only way for me to get stronger is to deep fry myself.
Meridian gave me a worried side eye.
"What's wrong?"
I glanced at him. "I'm thinking about how much of a pain it'll be to get stronger. You wouldn't understand."
He smiled. "Of course I understand. When I meditate it's really lonely, it makes me really sad too." He moved closer, and our shoulders touched. "But now we can meditate together, you know?"
I stood by his bed.
"That's not what I'm talking about," I replied with a sigh. "I mean myself, this body, it's broken."
"Broken?" Meridian tilted his head.
I waved a hand dismissively. "Nothing, do you have any paper?"
Meridian looked around his room with a finger on his chin. "I think I have a roll around here somewhere."
A roll?
He got up and approached a shelf. "There it is." With a huff, he picked up a roll of tightly packed, white paper. He set it down on the floor and peeled a few pieces off.
"Here, Lafayette."
I spread the paper out on the floor. It was thin and made of high-quality fabric pulp.
"Do you have anything to write with?"
Meridian handed me a pencil. It was hollowed out wood with a graphite center and no eraser.
I took it and immediately began to draw. Meridian knelt across from me, his hands pushed slightly between his thighs.
He leaned close. "That looks like a woman."
"She is a woman."
Meridian tilted his head. "Why are you drawing a woman?"
I sighed.
"Because, in times when I'm discouraged I like to procrastinate. And my favorite pastime when procrastinating is drawing waifus."
Meridian nodded. "I see. You know I procrastinate a little too, wanna see my work?"
I scoffed. "It's probably some doodles or something, right? Don't bother."
Meridian shook his head and approached his shelf. "No, no, I like to make statuettes from clay, see?"
Meridian pulled a small clay soldier from his shelf and brought it down to show me.
I stared at the thing with an open mouth. It wasn't just the statue of a knight, but as if an actual person had been shrunk and used to create a mold.
I mean the details on this thing were immaculate.
My gaze rose from the doll to meet Meridian's gaze. And in that moment I realized, Meridian wasn't stronger than me because of talent or genetics.
He was stronger because he fully applied himself to whatever he did. He didn't settle for being good enough. He wanted to be the best.
If I kept finding excuses to be mediocre I'd keep getting one-uped like this. I'd always be the fodder, the NPC, the sidekick…
I sighed and tossed the pencil aside.
Meridian lowered his statuette. "Aren't you gonna keep procrastinating?"
I shook my head as I left the room. "Can't."
"Hey wait up!" Meridian chased after me.
Dragon. I called while walking down the hall.
"Boy." He replied with a yawn.
Teach me how to break the first seal.
The dragon's laughter rumbled in my mind. It wasn't a laugh of mockery though, it was one of pleasant surprise.
"I thought your fire of ambition had been doused by reality, but it's grown stronger," He mused. "Even so, you are not ready to break the first seal."
Why not?
"Because," the dragon began, his voice dropped an octave.
"It's not something that can be halfhearted. To break the seal, it requires patience, endurance, and discipline. Your 'cheese' simply won't do."
I figured.
Still, I'm not discouraged. I want to do this.
The dragon hummed. "Very well, but you need to find a space outside of the mansion and ideally away from Phillip."
I tapped Meridian's arm. "Hey."
He smiled at me. "Hi, Lafayette."
"Do you have a spot you go to when you meditate outside?"
Meridian scratched his cheek as his eyes rolled to the left, then back at me.
"Sometimes I go to the forest when my father gets angry at my mother. But mother rarely visits so I don't go often."
I blinked. "Your parents argue?"
Meridian nodded. "Yeah, I don't understand it much. But I know my father gets angry every time she comes around. Like really angry."
I guess I'm not the only one who had a shitty childhood. "I'm sorry to hear that."
Meridian giggled softly. "It's okay, because now I have you. We're gonna get married and have a perfect family. Right?"
I felt a lump swell in my throat.
"Uh, sure. Now about that spot…"
Meridian's eyes lit up as he took my hand. "Oh yeah, come on, I'll show you." He raced forward and trailed behind him.
— — —
The forest behind Phillip's estate was dense and quiet. Eerily quiet. Meridian marched ahead of me, his worn boots crushing the dead leaves that littered the forest floor.
The forest opened to a small clearing with a pond and a log. The pond was filled with tiny, spider-like fish called crawlers. And the log was covered in soft, green moss.
Meridian released my hand and took a seat on the log. "Here we are, do you like it?"
Dragon?
"This'll do, take your seat and explain to Meridian that sh– he, is not to disturb you once we begin, no matter what."
What was that, did you just sneeze?
"Now is not the time for games, boy."
I sighed and took my seat beside Meridian. "Yeah, this is perfect," I answered. "But can you do me a favor?"
Meridian gave me a firm nod and thumbs up. "Anything."
"I'm going to start my meditation," I explained. "No matter what happens, you can't disturb me. Like, even if I start floating and speaking pig Latin or whatever."
Meridian placed a hand over his mouth to stifle a laugh. "I don't know what kind of meditation does that, but okay."
With that out of the way, I closed my eyes and returned to my mental space. It was just how I left it, the core and six rings.
I was back in my old body again too.
The dragons stepped behind me, his presence was just as overwhelming as before. Yet, he wasn't as frightening as the first time.
"So," I asked with a turn to face him. "How do we break this ring?"
The dragon walked forward and stopped the rings. "Touch it." He commanded. "But be warned, what you'll see on the other side, will break you."
I scoffed. "Please, whatever it is, I got this. Even without the cheese." I approached the ring with an outstretched hand and touched it.
My vision instantly went white.