God Of Crafting

Time.

Just like Claire pointed out, it was a word that… No, it was a meaning I summoned with my lips quite often, constantly bouncing it around my lips given just how many matters I had to deal with and how little time I had to do it.

In the end, time was just another resource that all humans had in limited supply. And it was my task as a person to ensure my time investment was directed at the correct topics.

So, I assigned the late morning to be the time for dinner, and then the next two hours were directed at various experiments that taught me a bit more about both my current cultivation stages.

Now, however, the short time I assigned for a break was getting consumed by an important phone call Claire ended up pushing on me when she learned I had to make the call in question rather than just sitting down and cuddling with her for the entirety of the break.

"Sure, getting the loot of a hunt shouldn't be any problematic," Chihiro announced from the other end of the line. "On the other hand, however, I need you and Claire to start slowly getting ready. In about a week's time, I'm going to accept a breakthrough. And if I succeed…"

The pressure of the time suddenly shot through the roof now that I've finally received some realistic time constraints. At the same time, however, I couldn't help but feel like laughing.

On one hand, not knowing how much time I've had to deal with something was a blessing, allowing me to better allocate my attention to the more urgent tasks. On the other hand, however, this convenience also stopped me from dealing with the problem right as it occurred, as doing otherwise would expose me to the constant stress of failing to bring forth what was expected of me.

"If I succeed, all three of us are going to pay a visit to the spiritual world. And with all of my heart and cultivation on the line, I hope that you will be ready for all the trails that place hold in store for you. Or, in short, it's in your best interest if you come prepared!"

Following this joyful message, Chichiro cut the call short, leaving me with nothing but a burning question - 'How the hell am I supposed to prepare for the spiritual world?!'

I looked up to the skies as if to picture Claire's dad's face on the clouds… For what else was I supposed to do?

"I guess I need to re-evaluate the priorities of absolutely everything…" I muttered under my nose as I sat back down on the car's sofa only to rest my elbows on my knees as I leaned forward and used my hands to support my head in place.

'This and that can wait. The topic of the next enlightenment… second level of priority. Tools for Chihiro…?'

I took in a deep breath… only to then release it as a long sigh right away.

"I think I know what I need to prioritize…" I muttered to myself as I realized that the thing I just thought about… took precedence over absolutely everything else.

There was no point preparing for what would happen in the spiritual world if we were to be denied entry to that place when in case Chihiro failed to break through to the tenth cultivation stage, thus proving both his talent and his worthiness to the spiritual realm!

"Do you have any questions?" Claire asked with a slightly baffled look on her face, as if my not asking her for help right away was akin to some sort of vicious heresy.

"Ah, I do, I do," I smiled as I nodded my head to agree with Claire's suggestion for the sake of my own safety right now, and my safety once the time comes for us to battle each other in the bedroom during the night-time.

"First off, what sort of challenges could your father mean?" I asked, putting the topic of tools for Chihiro high enough in the queue of my mind so that I could work on the side whenever my thoughts weren't occupied with anything else of importance. On the outside, however, I continued as usual.

"Are they supposed to be challengers befitting a cultivator? Challenges regarding the etiquette? Or maybe the basic rules of social interaction?"

Chihiro's warning could very well be about the physical dangers of stepping inside the spiritual world as a mortal, the dangers of offending some young master that was local to the spiritual world… or, just as likely, they could be all about making sure to pack my own toilet paper for the trip to the spiritual world due to the insanely poor quality of the toilet paper sourced locally over there!

And with Chihiro way too busy to be at my every beck and call, who else was the best person to ask about the details of what Chihiro could mean if not his one and only daughter and my affectionate lover?

"I think Father meant for you to be prepared for the opportunities that stepping into the spiritual realm will present you with. As for the actual challenges…" Claire took a moment to think. "While there are some things that I will need to warn you about, it's nothing all that important.

On the other hand…" Sliding over the sofa, Claire came closer only to do the usual and wrap herself around my side. "That spark of yours," she mentioned only to gently twist her lips into a happy smile. "I saw it again."

The corner of my lips shot up.

Indeed, I received a small moment of inspiration. Nothing on the scale of what I've experienced when I thought about crafting my own food… but still, I felt as if I touched the very concept of the cultivation tool just by putting it as a priority in my mind and hardly actually taking time to consider it!

'If that's how far I could go just by thinking about the general idea of it, what could be possible if I actually do focus on it?' I asked myself, only to close my eyes…

And then open them back up right away when I sensed an extremely familiar vibration in my pocket.

'Who could be…?' Puzzled, I pried my eyes open as I pulled the phone up only to look down into it…

And see a name I didn't expect even in a wildest dream to mark the sender of the message I've just received.

"Chihiro?" I muttered just loud enough for Claire to hear and look over my shoulder onto the screen, right as I tapped the message to open it up.

<There's a book "Ten Chapters" open in my study, back at your villa. It may give you some insights as to the methods and ideology I will be using to breach my bottleneck. I hope it will prove useful in your task.>

'A book of ten chapters?' I thought, taking a moment to ponder over the weird title that was either some genius plot twist in the making that would leave me shocked upon its reveal in the latest chapter…

Or maybe it was merely a book that had exactly ten chapters and an author who couldn't be bothered to waste his time trying to come up with a more clickbaity title when he could put this time to writing even more instead?

Who knows, maybe it was even a result of that book's author's bet he made with the universe, proclaiming himself to be gay unless he publishes ten whole chapters by some point in time… Only to then call the book "Ten chapters" and call it a day, arguing that was his intention in the bet from the very beginning?

Or maybe that title had absolutely nothing to do with the book, by the author's design? Who knew, it could even be Chihiro's attempt at being cryptic or a practical joke aimed to make me confused?

'It may even be a lesson to teach me to stop overthinking stuff, eh?' I thought, shaking my head as I put the phone away and looked up at Claire's face.

"Back to the Villa?" she asked, perfectly seeing through what was going on in my head.

"Yeah," I nodded my head. "Back to the villa."

Whatever the truth about the title… it didn't matter in the slightest.

Find your next read on m,vlemp _yr.

After all, the moment Chihiro himself recommended for me to read it, it became the very next thing I was going to do!