Cursed Comprehension

The next day, Ato woke up with a bright smile on his face, due to having successfully tormented Kweku the day before.

He really was an emotional vampire.

The sounds of the chickens echoed through the air, yet Ato didn't feel even an ounce of annoyance, prancing joyously ot the hut.

"Good day, sir chicken!"

Lady Clucklaine IV, being the illustrious and self-respecting hen that she was, took great offense at the misappropriation of her gender, and made quite sure to repay the slight with a fierce peck to the toe of the ignorant being.

What the noble hen didn't account for, however, was the sheer strength of the human's kick.

"Cacaw!"

Ato punted the hen, sending it flying past the trees.

Was it animal abuse? Yes.

Did he care? No.

Kweku popped his head out the entrance of the hut, drowsiness still visible in his eyes.

"What the hell are you doing? The sun isn't even up."

Ato looked up at the sky, sure enough, there was little sunlight to be seen.

Wierd... I still see normally...

If he hadn't already been cultivating, he would have though it a simple side effect of his current cultiviation rank, which had not changed much due to his laziness.

I really need to start cultivating.

Kweku had already broken through, and Ato was certainly not about to let himself lag behind. How would he be able to face his fellow reincarnators after all?

Come to think of it, are there even any other reincarnators?

Ato wasn't the type to think that he was some kind of special person, ecah action he took in his past life and this one was one filled with endless caution and wariness.

Or at least, it should have been.

It seemed that the novelty of reincarnation had gotten to his head; he couldn't even imagine himself making the decisions he had made in the past few days—not after all those oaths he'd sworn.

He let out a dark chuckle and returned to the hut. Cultivation would certainly help get rid of such thoughts.

Sitting with his legs crossed underneath him, Ato took a deep breath, trying to absorb as much Kra as possible.

His expression was strained, his brows furrowed in concentration. Sensing Kra was tough work, and drawing it in was even harder; it was like trying to fill a basket full of water, except the basket was absolutely filled with holes.

Ato had read about a Fetish Priest who did that once.

As the minutes flew by, Ato became increasingly unaware of himself, his thoughts becoming mere whispers as he reached a part of his consciousness previously unknown.

It was then that he felt it; the elusive sensation af Kra.

It was like a wisp of smoke, floating aimlessly in the air—that was until he inhaled, drawing in the misty wisp in a single large breath.

The strand travelled through his body, moving through his bloodstream and settling in his heart.

Ato felt... fuller somehow, as if the invitation of Kra into his body also purged his hunger.

The thought was quite interesting...

Wait, how am I thinking right now?

His eyes snapped open, their blank stare quickly changing into one of annoyance.

A groan of exasperation escaped his lips as he rose from the bed.

He'd lost concentration.

"Fuck..." He muttered, his palm covering his face. Why was it always so damn hard to keep concentration?

He quicly calmed down, as his thoughts switched to another, more interesting topic.

Something was... different about his cultivation session, it felt more magnified, as if he could see more of what was going on.

Ato doubted it was a sign of adavancement, seeing as physical and mental strength stayed relatively same at each cultivation level.

What the hell is going on?

That, coupled with the days first unusual happening, led him to an equally strange, but very plausible explanation.

That whatever technique Abena had used on him had changed him somehow.

Ato quite liked the prospects of that.