Ning read the book for a while. He was told to ignore the 'wonderful places' on the map, and just focus on learning the names and places that would be beneficial for him.
As Ning read, he realized that he was on the westernmost edge of the Crowler empire. If he wanted to, he could go to the Frolane empire in just a short day, but if he wanted to go through the entire Crowler empire, it would take a week or two, maybe even more.
There were also the Oseger Empire and the Blackhawk Dominion on the Glacien continent, but he didn't seem to have to worry about that right now.
"That's too much to remember at once for sure," Ning said as he closed the map.
"How much do you remember?" Clara asked.
"I know the 5 empires and a few cities in the Crowler Empire. I think I can cough up a more if I think for a while, but I'll have to read it again to remember more," Ning said.
"Hmm, so not much of an intelligent person, are you?" Clara asked.
"Hey! Don't just go calling me dumb just because my talents lie elsewhere," Ning said.
Clara shook her head. "Take the book with you and try to remember the city names," she said. "You can also read any book you want in this study. For now, come with me. Since you won't be a merchant, you'll have to train to be a mercenary."
Ning nodded and walked out to the backyards of the building. The noble's backyard was quite spacious, despite being in the middle of the city. There was enough for a person to play or train.
There were a few people there, and Clara acted like she wasn't the boss at all. The other people didn't recognize her, so Ning didn't try to out her either.
"What's first?" he asked.
"I need to know how strong you are for now," she said. "Try punching that rock."
Ning followed her gaze and saw an almost volcanic glass-like rock. The touched the flat side of the rock and looked back at her.
"What is this?" he asked.
"We call it the Training rock. It's a piece of rock that's forged around volcanoes, and it is known to have immense Essence hidden inside it that one cannot tap into," Clara explained. "The Essence moved away from the side of the glass that feels a strong force."
"Depending on how hard you hit, the glass will get clearer. Punch it with your fist so we can see how strong it is," she said.
Ning nodded and wasted no time as he punched the glass as hard as he could. As soon as his fist landed on the glass, it suddenly got clearer. However, it wasn't clear enough for Ning to see much difference.
"It barely got any clearer, huh?" Ning said. "Did I do something wrong? Do I try again?"
He turned around as he questioned his next actions when he suddenly stopped.
"What's wrong with you?" he asked.
Clara looked at him with the most incredulous look she had seen yet. She hadn't even shown this much emotion when she had killed the 3 bosses all by herself.
"How did you do that?" she asked, with the shock still audible in her voice.
"How did I do what?" Ning asked.
"Your strength," Clara said. "It's over 15 times as strong as a normal person. Are you really not in the 5 Sense Improvement realm?"
"How can I be?" Ning asked. "I only just got on the Physical Improvement realm like a month and a half ago."
Clara's eyes went wider and she shook his head. "That's not possible," she said. "Try again."
Ning shrugged and punched again, creating the same result once again. "Now what?" he asked.
Clara thought for a bit and walked up to him. "Give me your hand," she said.
Ning put forth his hand, and Clara grabbed it quickly. "Now, push your Essence into my hand." She said.
Ning didn't question her and did as he was told to do. He poured what little Essence into her hand and watched her reaction.
It was like watching a child see the ocean for the first time. Clara's eyes were wide open as if she had never seen something so great before in her life.
"Your Essence… it's… it's so pure," she said.
"Oh, is that so?" Ning asked. "Pure essence is good right? That's what they told me."
"It is," Clara said as he eyes ran around. "How did you come to have essence with such high purity?"
"Is it more pure than the 80% pure essence crystal by any chance?" Ning asked.
"Yes, it's… it's definitely way more pure. It maybe even cross the 90, no, 95% mark. Although, I've never seen pure essence, so I cannot judge exactly," she said. "Where did you find it? As you boss, I order you to answer."
Ning's eyes narrowed. "Don't go using your authority so needlessly. I would've told you even if you didn't order me to," he said.
"You would give such a valuable information without a command?" Clara was surprise.
"I mean, there's no point in me hiding the information since it won't help you at all," Ning said. "Have you heard of the Divine beasts?"
"Of course I've heard of the Divine Beasts. They are fables that are said to live on the ocean floor. Why do you ask?" she questioned.
"Well, the Essence in me came from a fruit on a tree, on an island, that was on top of a giant turtle, in the middle of the ocean."
Clara's eyes narrowed when she heard him. "Are you seriously suggesting that you got your Essence from a Divine beast?" she asked.
"No, no, from the fruit, not the beast," Ning said. "I ate a lot of those fruits while I was stuck on the island back then. I was only able to leave that place because the turtle came floating close to land, from where I swam. How much does this information help you?"
