Chapter 3: Cultivation

Melissa watched Caspian change clothes, her cheeks flushing.  After all these years apart, he didn't look any older. In fact, he seemed even more handsome than before.  In a head‑to‑toe tracksuit, he looked better than celebrities. Melissa had a pretty face, and Caspian was strikingly handsome.  Walking side by side, they made a perfect pair that turned heads everywhere they went.  People stared.  Someone even tried to recruit them for a couples event.  Melissa turned down every invitation. As they passed the most expensive residential area in Jasperwood, Melissa glanced up. "I really envy the people who get to live here." Caspian heard her and looked at the bland complex, then at Melissa.  "You want to live in here?" "Do you even know what this place is?" Melissa asked. "What is it?" Caspian wasn't picky about where he lived. When he was in the Storage Space, the place he lived in was huge. "It's called Pyralis. It's the priciest residence in Jasperwood. A single unit can sell for over ten million dollars." Melissa spoke with unabashed longing.  To her, a barely known, bottom‑tier streamer, a place like that felt out of reach. Caspian saw her expression and quietly tucked the name away. He had only spent about a dozen years in the mortal world, so his knowledge of it had gotten hazy after tens of thousands of years in the Virtual World.  Even remembering desktop computers was already impressive.  A number like ten million didn't really register for him.  Ten thousand years was a long time. No memory could stay perfectly sharp. Only his family remained etched into his mind. In the end, Melissa rented a furnished two‑bedroom apartment.  The rent cost about four hundred dollars a month, which was not expensive in Jasperwood. At night, she hired a moving company.  Caspian watched the staff load item after item onto the truck and couldn't help but smirk. "If I'd known we'd be moving all this, I would've just done it myself." "Come on, what are you talking about? Seriously, how would you carry all this by yourself?"  Melissa looked him up and down, doubting his words. "I don't have to carry anything. I could just put it all in my Storage Space." Melissa burst out laughing at his words.  "Let me guess, in your Storage Space you can toss in anything, and it's limitless, right?" Things like that belonged in fantasy novels.  How could they exist in real life? Caspian looked completely serious.  "How did you know?" As far as he knew, only he knew about his Storage Space.  How did his sister know about it? Smiling, Melissa hooked her arm through his and nudged him into the truck.  "Of course I know. Come on, get in. We're heading out." She didn't give him a chance to prove anything. They rode with the moving company to the new place.  Caspian didn't have much things. Melissa had already bought him new bedding and everyday necessities during the day.  Between moving and furnishing, she had spent quite a bit. Later that night, she opened her stream.  The live comments lit up at once. [Melissa, you finally went live! Could you ask your brother what fever medicine he gave you yesterday?] "Yesterday's fever medicine?" Melissa thought of that pill.  "It was probably just a regular fever medicine," she said to the camera, though the effect had been remarkable. Since the commenter was one of her few die‑hard fans, Melissa got up right away to ask Caspian. Just then, Caspian walked out of his room carrying his little cauldron.  He held the cauldron in his left hand, snapped his fingers with his right, and a crimson flame rose in its center.  The webcam caught the moment perfectly. The chat exploded. [What's that in your brother's hand?] Melissa glanced at Caspian, who sat on the sofa fiddling with the cauldron.  "A toy he brought, I think." [What toy is that?] [If anything's impressive, it's not the toy, it's your brother. Is he a magician?] To most people, only a magician could snap his fingers and make a flame leap up inside a cauldron. [Ask your brother if the pill he gave you last night was made like this!] Seeing her stream finally heating up, Melissa didn't want to dampen the mood.  She picked up her camera and walked over to Caspian. "What are you doing?" "Making pills." The two words fell from his lips. The chat went wild. [Making pills?] [Alright then, fellow cultivator, what sect are you from? You know pill‑refining too? Lol] [Hahahaha, making pills? That's so nerdy. How old is your brother anyway? I knew from his outfit last night he wasn't ordinary, and I guess he really isn't.] [Is your brother an alchemist?] [What's going on? Why is today's chat all about pill‑refining? Are you guys studying cultivation now?] [You must be new. Melissa's brother seems to be an alchemist. Hahaha! He's messing with a cauldron right now.] Melissa looked from the live comments to Caspian, who was solemnly focused on the cauldron.  "Caspian... Are you okay?" She meant mentally. Caspian didn't realize she had the stream camera on.  "Of course I'm okay. I'm working on a pill that lets you pull all‑nighters night after night without wrecking your skin." "Thanks, Caspian."  Melissa didn't believe him, but she felt touched. He spoke with calm assurance. "Don't worry. It'll be done soon." He had never studied this formula before.  Wearing a serious expression, he placed his hands on either side of the cauldron.  His palms shifted slightly. A moment later, the fire began to hiss, and the crimson flame inside the cauldron swelled.  The camera was close. Viewers could see every flicker of the flame.  The young man before them held his hands at the cauldron sides, as if guiding the blaze itself.