Despite the decision to accept Walter's help in escaping, Edward was not going to blindly follow the old man's instructions. Especially now, when Walter posed a great threat to his life.
Edward decided to find out a little about the old man, but he was only informed that Walter was an ordinary decrepit old man who was living out his last years. Apparently, none of the prisoners knew that Walter was a spiritual master.
«And the old man is good at hiding his identity...»
Edward was unhappy with this fact, because if Walter decides to get rid of him, there is a high probability that he will succeed.
For this reason, Edward decided to protect himself somehow. He had started preparing to escape even before he met the old man, so he already had some preparations.
Edward wasn't sure when Walter would decide to proceed with the plan, so he decided to return to his hiding place and pick up what was there. During another nighttime outing, he sneaked into a dark corner of the mine, where no one had entered. Here, among the fragments of rock and debris, there was a small depression, carefully hidden by rocks. This depression could only be discovered by a thorough search, so Edward decided to make a small warehouse in this place.
Removing the cover, Edward made sure that no one had discovered his hiding place. In the couple of weeks he'd been here, he'd managed to craft some semblance of a knife and primitive defenses. It was quite easy to do this. While working, Edward had discreetly hidden a piece of sharp-angled stone under his clothes. After spending some time, Edward ground the edge on a stone slab until it resembled a blade. Then, wrapping it in a coarse cloth, he reinforced the makeshift handle with thin copper wire, which he had previously stealthily pulled out of one of the carts.
As for protection, it was even easier here. It was all made from belts that he found while loitering around the mine. Edward cut these straps into strips that could be wrapped around the joints, as well as the forearms and shins. Although not significantly, it could reduce the damage received.
After making sure that everything was fine with the hiding place, Edward took out a knife and tied it to his thigh, hiding it under his clothes. After wrapping the pieces of the leather belt around his limbs with extreme care, Edward hid the indentation with a stone and returned back to the cell. The only thing left for him now was to wait for news from Walter and hope that the knife would not be useful to him for some time. And now, a couple of days later, the moment has come.
During another hard day at the mine, Edward unexpectedly ran into Walter, who quietly whispered in his ear that everything was finally ready. Edward nodded softly in response, and they parted ways. After finishing his work, Edward returned to his cell, checked his equipment once more, and went to meet the old man.
Edward felt tense and excited at the same time. He wondered if Walter would want to kill him or if he would choose to spare him. In addition, the old man promised Edward to help him become a spiritual master. This was one of the biggest advantages in their deal, as Edward was extremely weak right now, and acquiring even a tiny bit of strength would be very useful. Edward was sure that Walter had not deceived him with this. The only thing in question was his safety.
When Edward reached the designated place, he found that Walter was already waiting for him, sitting on a large boulder and thinking about something. Not far from the old man, Edward managed to notice some strange pattern, which, apparently, was drawn in blood.
— You've finally come... — The old man said somewhat irritably, coming out of his thoughts and paying attention to the young man. To this, Edward only nodded briefly, preferring to ignore the old man's irritated tone.
— Where do we start? — Edward asked the old man.
— I like your enthusiasm, but don't rush it. I think it's worth giving a short lecture first... Consider this a small bonus to our deal.
— A lecture? — Edward was a little surprised, but he didn't refuse. There is never much information.
The old man nodded: — You've spent your whole life in the mine, so you don't know much about life outside of it. Unfortunately, I will only tell you about spiritual masters. You'll figure out the rest yourself, I'm not your babysitter.
After settling himself comfortably, the old man continued.
— How much do you know about spiritual masters?
— Not so much... I know that they are divided by rank and have some special abilities... — Edward answered thoughtfully. He really didn't know much. It was difficult to extract information from other prisoners, almost no one wanted to communicate with him. As for the guards, Edward tried not to approach them at all, as it could be life-threatening. For this reason, the information that the young man had was extremely scarce and limited.
— Well, I expected this... — Walter sounded a little disappointed. Apparently, he wasn't thrilled to have to spend more time explaining.
After a moment of indignation, he finally continued: — In our world, there are people who can use spiritual energy, they are called spiritual masters. Spiritual energy endows them with various abilities, which elevates them above ordinary mortals. The abilities of each spiritual master are individual and depend on which path was chosen by the master. Spiritual masters are divided into nine ranks, depending on their strength. To become a spiritual master, it is enough to create a container for spiritual energy in your heart, after which you need to light your first star. From now on, you will be considered a spiritual master of the first rank, but at the same time, your development will stop.
After hearing the last part, Edward frowned. What the old man was saying didn't fit in his head.
— But then how do spiritual masters develop their strength? — The young man asked an interesting question.
— Heh, it's very simple. For further development, the spiritual master must subdue the demonic spirit. The fact is that each demonic spirit contains a star chart consisting of several constellations, which will guide the development of the master. The maximum rank of a master is determined by the number of constellations in the star chart. This is because demonic spirits have their own development potential. For example, demonic spirits with low potential have three constellations in their star chart, each with no more than three stars. This means that a spiritual master will be able to reach, at most, the third rank. As for demonic spirits with medium and high development potential, they increase the limits to 6 and 9 ranks, respectively.
— I see... So it all depends on the demonic spirit. — Edward thought about it.
— That's a good point, kid. But don't worry too much. Even if you merge with a demonic spirit that has low potential, there is always the possibility of its evolution.
Edward nodded thoughtfully. In general, he understood what Walter was explaining.
— Is there anything beyond rank 9? — Edward suddenly asked a question, to which the old man took a deep breath.
— Rumor has it that someone who transcends the boundaries of Rank 9 also transcends the limitations of the world and becomes like a deity. — Walter said these words skeptically, and there was even a hint of mockery in his voice.
Seeing that Edward was thinking about it, the old man interrupted him: —Anyway, don't worry your head. These are just fairy tales. In my entire life, I have never heard of a single person who could break out of rank 9.
From the fact that his thought flow was interrupted, Edward looked irritably at Walter, but decided not to contradict him, in order to avoid conflict: — Good... So, when will you help me create a spiritual space?
— Don't rush it... First, I need to get rid of the seal. Any such seal is extremely sensitive to fluctuations in spiritual energy. One careless action, and we can attract too much attention. — The old man interrupted Edward, to which he nodded, presenting potential problems.
— First, sit in the center of this circle. — With these words, Walter pointed with his finger at the patterns that Edward had seen not so long ago. Obeying the old man, the young man performed the action, but was extremely careful. Although the old man was friendly, an unpleasant feeling was growing in Edward's heart.
Going behind Edward, the old man put one of his hands on the young man's head, and he placed the other on the area of his heart.
— Focus, kid. Now I'm going to inject my spiritual power into you. Don't resist and cooperate with what I'm doing. — The old man's voice sounded extremely serious, which made Edward decide to suppress his doubts and concentrate on creating a spiritual space.