As per usual, Khan lost track of time during the meditative session. His senses updated him on the outside world, but his mind solely focused on his body.
A long time had passed since Khan's last serious training session. He had chosen to take it easy for a while after his period of isolation and the consequences it brought. Yet, that habit had long since been ingrained into his mind, allowing him to perform it without problem.
Khan's flesh opposed the intensifying mana radiation exuded by the enhanced tissues. His body didn't want to transform. It tried to reject that powerful influence by sending waves of pain and muscle spasms, almost attempting to break Khan's concentration.
Nevertheless, Khan had always been good at enduring pain. His desperation had made him able to face and overcome countless hardships, and that skill had only improved throughout the years.
Still, climbing through the warrior levels had also harshened the process. Khan could sense his body's stronger unwillingness to change, especially compared to his new version of the [Blood Vortex]. He could guess it would take years to reach the next breakthrough through standard methods, but Baoway had created a silver lining.
Khan could sense the increased difficulty in influencing his body, but the toxic air flowing into his lungs and resting on his skin slowly smoothed the process. The change wasn't significant but still existed, providing the support humankind's scientists would kill for.
Of course, the exposure to the plant's influence didn't just bring benefits, especially in Khan's case. The toxic air muddled the thoughts, attempting to slow down the meditative session. It also created drowsiness, threatening to deviate the training session into dangerous practices. Still, Khan wasn't so easily affected.
Khan's main issue with the toxic influence came from his very body. The slight change caused by the blue plant didn't only ease the meditation's effects. It also established a relatively precise path for his flesh, aiming to turn him into something specific.
Khan couldn't be sure, but his hunches told him that the path's goal was what he feared. His improvements were pushing him closer to the Nak or a state in line with their mutations. He was distancing himself from humankind even further, but no hesitation existed in his mind.
The only thoughts that managed to resurface during the muddled and mentally taxing procedure involved evolution. Ideas formed in Khan's mind as he studied himself and the differences with regular meditative sessions. He had already considered the option due to his rising expertise in the Thilku runes, and the blue plant's effects made it more realistic and feasible.
Khan could replicate the theory behind the evolution. He probably couldn't achieve anything stable and effective with his current skills, but he was getting there. Humans approached the process only after reaching the peak of the fifth level, but Khan believed he could ignore those rules and start sooner.
The idea was to achieve greater benefits over the simple higher percentage of mana fused with the flesh. Khan would get even stronger if he started the process sooner, and the actual evolution would theoretically be easier, too, once he reached that point.
However, Khan had never been sure about the goal. He didn't know what he would and could become, which affected the idea's foundation. He couldn't create runes without choosing their purpose, preventing him from even starting to develop a plan.
That was when the blue plant could come in. The toxic influence wasn't only slow and manageable. It also didn't need active decisions from Khan's side. His very genes would establish the direction of his growth as long as he provided enough energy.
Moreover, Khan could stop whenever he wanted. The process' pace allowed him to notice unwanted changes early enough to halt the experiment and develop different methods. The opposite would also be true if he learned to replicate the plant's effects.
Those thoughts were nothing more than random ideas Khan occasionally considered when his mind achieved enough clarity. Most of his attention remained on the meditation, and hours passed without him noticing.
Rok-Go remained beside Khan the whole time, focusing on his approach. It was unclear whether he was actually training, but Khan was in no condition to ask or check.
Still, Khan's lungs eventually rejected continuous exposure to the toxic air. Light coughs rose through his throat and threatened to grow violent, forcing him to leave the meditative state and open his hazy eyes.
Clarity immediately arrived, and a blue light suddenly spread in the tent's darkness. The flash barely lasted a second but was enough to startle Rok-Go. The alien grunted something, but Khan only lowered his head and rubbed his eyes.
More coughs rose through Khan's throat, snapping him to his feet and hurrying him outside the tent. He didn't wait for the alien to lead the way as he lifted the pelts to return to the settlement. Clean air quickly invaded his lungs, granting some relief, but its slightly cold nature warned him about another detail.
Khan only needed his eyes to clarify that detail. Baoway's star had set under the horizon, opening the way for a cold night. It wasn't freezing, but the difference from the morning was more than noticeable.
Of course, Khan didn't care about the cold. His attention was on his time inside the rectangular tent and the possible consequences of the long isolation. Yet, his senses quickly updated him on his surroundings, quelling his worries.
The settlement didn't change during Khan's absence, and the same went for Amy. She was where he had left her, sitting on the ground to converse with Kru-Zi.
Khan's return didn't go unnoticed, especially after Rok-Go exited the tent. The old Scalqa supported himself on his cane as he appeared in the open and approached Kru-Zi. Amy planned to stand up to greet him, but Kru-Zi said something that made her remain on the ground.
Khan heard the alien word but couldn't translate it, and the fact that Amy had understood it hinted at a fruitful conversation. His companion had advanced her mission, expanding her vocabulary of the Scalqa language. Khan would have preferred to be present during the process, but that outcome was still acceptable.
Rok-Go sat beside Kru-Zi, and Khan inspected his surroundings before following suit. He checked whether the long meditative session had brought noticeable changes, but everything looked the same. Actually, the only odd detail came from Amy.
Amy showed her usual smile when her eyes met Khan's, but a strange expression soon filled her face. She looked like she needed to say something important, but the presence of the two Scalqa forced her to maintain a calm fa?ade.
Khan was still waking up from the muddling experience, but his social training didn't disappoint. He calmly sat beside Amy and half-bowed toward the two Scalqa, maintaining eye contact while waiting for his companion to speak.
"There might be an unforeseen development," Amy exclaimed, her eyes also fixed on the two Scalqa. "How was the tent?"
"I'll explain back at HQ," Khan said. "What's the development?"
"I might have misunderstood," Amy warned, "But the leader went above and beyond to convey the message."
"The point, Amy," Khan ordered.
"I think it's better if he shows you," Amy uttered, clearing her throat to prepare for the alien accent. "[Kru-Zi, Ka-Han here]."
Kru-Zi said something neither Khan nor Amy could understand before shouting another untranslatable order. Some movement happened in the settlement, and two auras grew closer. Soon, the four on the ground could witness the event with their own eyes, and curiosity inevitably rose inside Khan.
One of the settlement's aliens pushed the invaders' leader forward. The latter was full of bruises and cuts, and ropes made of pelt kept his hands tied behind his back. The Scalqa had probably been tortured, but Khan couldn't understand to what end.
Nevertheless, the issue seemed to have nothing to do with the torture. The invaders' leader's big eyes lit up when he spotted Khan, and untranslatable words escaped his mouth. He also picked up the pace, but the alien behind him held him by the bound hands.
When the invaders' leader reached the sitting group, he fell to his knees, and the other alien began to attend to his tied hands. He undid the knots, freeing his arms, which promptly shot into the air to perform the strange gesture Khan had witnessed twice already.
Khan couldn't help but find the development odd. He believed the settlement would enslave and absorb the nomadic tribe, but the leader seemed to have received a different treatment.
Moreover, the leader clearly sought Khan's attention, and his mana radiated a mixture of respect and supplication. Something was at stake there, but Khan couldn't understand his role in the matter.
"It seems this alien wants to be your subject," Amy chimed in to explain. "I couldn't understand whether it was his decision or something connected to the Scalqa customs. However, it seems Kru-Zi approves."
Khan glanced at Kru-Zi, who wore a solemn face while his eyes darted between the kneeling alien and him. Nothing in his expression radiated approval, but Khan understood that the issue was elsewhere. Kru-Zi wasn't against the event. He simply respected it too much.
'It's clearly a custom,' Khan concluded, but the issue remained. He wouldn't know what to do with an alien follower and had always avoided being a leader.
Also, the presence of an alien could hinder eventual tasks, mainly because Khan couldn't properly communicate with him. The Scalqa was a liability, but Khan didn't know how wise it was to reject him.
"What's your opinion on this?" Khan asked, his eyes still on the kneeling alien.
"Having alien followers would suit your fame," Amy stated, holding back a giggle.
"I'm serious," Khan replied.
"If someone can make this work," Amy declared, "That's you. The team will understand."
The idea of having additional responsibilities didn't entice Khan, especially now that he had gained access to the rectangular tent. Yet, the Scalqa seemed to value status, and he would probably earn better deals if he started matching their traditions.
'So much for not wanting to be team leader,' Khan thought before standing up and approaching the kneeling alien. His huge lifted palms filled his vision, and he ran two fingers over them, imitating what Kru-Zi had done in the past.
