Chapter 6 - A Cultivator in a Camel Coat
Logan shut the trash-room door behind him.
Mrs. Vega looked at Mason.
He nodded toward the stairs.
“Probably a good time to test the heater upstairs.”
She left without argument.
Brent tried to follow.
Logan said, “Stay.”
Brent stayed.
That told Mason something.
Logan had not raised his voice.
He did not need to.
A system panel unfolded.
[LOGAN VOSS]
REALM: IRON MERIDIAN — THIRD VEIN
PRIMARY PATH: MERCER FOUNDRY ART
THREAT: SEVERE
Logan examined Mason like a mechanic checking an unfamiliar engine.
“Tin Skin in one night.”
Mason shrugged.
“Multivitamins.”
“What artifact did you use?”
“No idea what you mean.”
“The Blackstar.”
Brent looked confused.
Logan did not.
“The car carried a machine spirit fragment. Mercer House paid Todd to hold it until collection. You touched it. Now you’re cultivating.”
Mason mentally asked the system if that was true.
[PARTIALLY.]
Helpful.
“What happens if I say I don’t have your fragment?”
Logan smiled.
“Then I search you.”
Mason’s skin prickled.
“You planning to do that personally?”
“Yes.”
Brent suddenly found the floor fascinating.
Mason considered fighting.
The system interrupted.
[RECOMMENDATION: DO NOT.]
“Noted.”
Out loud, Mason said, “Maybe Todd has it.”
“He doesn’t.”
“You checked?”
“Todd was paid to store a relic, not understand it.”
Logan stepped closer.
“I am giving you a courtesy because you are newly awakened and apparently ignorant. Return what you took. I will forget you exist.”
Mason almost agreed.
Then he remembered the system’s warning over the car.
ILLEGAL CLAIM.
“Was it yours?”
Logan’s expression cooled.
“Excuse me?”
“The Blackstar. Was it actually Mercer property?”
Brent looked up.
Logan stared at Mason for several seconds.
“Ownership is complicated among cultivators.”
“That sounds like no with better tailoring.”
Brent made a noise that might have been a cough.
Logan’s aura changed.
Pressure filled the room.
Mason’s knees bent.
Tin Skin did nothing against it.
Qi.
Real cultivation pressure.
Logan spoke quietly.
“You are mistaking a strange opportunity for status.”
Mason’s jaw clenched.
“And you’re mistaking a nice coat for a personality.”
The pressure doubled.
Mason nearly dropped.
Then the broken appliances around him began to glow.
Dozens of abandoned objects.
Dozens of tiny residues.
The Reclaimer Interface opened by itself.
[ENVIRONMENT: HIGH-DENSITY DISCARDED INTENT]
[EMERGENCY TECHNIQUE UNLOCKED]
SCRAPFIELD BREATHING — TEMPORARILY DRAW QI FROM ABANDONED OBJECTS WITHOUT RECLAIMING TRAITS.
Mason inhaled.
The room answered.
Warm power poured from broken fans, chairs, cords, appliances, bent metal shelving.
His back straightened.
Logan’s eyes widened.
The pressure broke.
Mason exhaled.
“You were saying?”
Logan stared around the trash room.
For the first time, he looked uncertain.
Then he smiled slowly.
“Interesting.”
Mason hated that word immediately.
Logan opened the door.
“You have seventy-two hours.”
“For what?”
“To decide whether you want Mercer House to recruit you.”
“And if I say no?”
Logan looked back.
“Then they stop asking politely.”
He left.
Brent remained on the floor.
Mason looked at him.
“You can go.”
Brent scrambled upstairs.
The system chimed.
[NEW QUEST]
BUILD A FOUNDATION THEY CANNOT BUY.
[OBJECTIVE: CREATE A PERSONAL CULTIVATION METHOD BEFORE MERCER HOUSE RETURNS.]
Mason stared at the mountain of junk around him.
Then he smiled.
“Finally. A problem I can afford.”
---
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