Amari's Ascension A Cultivation Litrpg Apocalypse Adventure

I opened up my menu and shifted to the only quest reward I couldn't redeem. The System hub. I was just about to confirm it when I had a realization. If other people needed to access the hub they would have to come up here. I wasn't sure if that was good or not. The instructors treated the whole thing like a relief to be protected. If that was the case keeping it as far away from the ground as possible was best. I went back and forth on it for a few minutes before I gave up. I didn't have any details so I confirmed the reward. There was a bright flash and then a smaller version of the system hub sat in the middle of the table. It was a hexagram that melted into the stone of the table. A dull pillar of black light reached the ceiling and the familiar symbol of the System floated in the middle.

Requirements have been met would you like to create a city? Found a City now?

I couldn't help but laugh at the RPG prompt. It didn't make sense that I had to choose to redeem the reward and then confirm I wanted to use it. Of course, it would kind of piss me off if I had somehow accidentally claimed it. So I couldn't complain about it too much. I confirmed and felt a light pulse of energy pass through the room and then spread further through the building. I raised an eyebrow and waited for something else to happen. Some kind of global announcement or a pillar of light to shoot into the air. At this point, I would have settled for some Super Mario music but there was nothing.

"Hello there." A cheery and chipper voice called out from beside me.

My eyes widened and I activated Psychic Aegis. The protective shield formed around me before I had a chance to take in my surroundings. When I did what I saw left me speechless. There was a black and purple sphere covered in what looked like a cloud of stardust floating right there. The entire thing looked a bit like looking at the universe through an obsidian ball.

"I believe I said hello. I assume you can understand what I am saying."

Somehow the lack of mouth to match the words snapped me back to reality. "Who are you? How did you get here without me noticing?"

"I am your administrator. It is my responsibility to manage your territories hence the name. How long ago did the tutorial end?"

"Um, a couple of days. I was under the impression that I was supposed to be the leader of a city since I founded the damn thing."

I wasn't sure how I knew it or how a floating ball of gaseous clouds could look annoyed but it did. "Yes of course you are the leader. My job is to administer it. As the faction leader you will be better off growing your strength than reading reports over how many spiritual plants you have and how many you need for certain recipes."

I blinked and then slowly nodded. That had been one of the things I was afraid of. It would suck if I became tied down to this place and couldn't explore the world. If that was the case I wasn't sure if I wanted to be the ruler but it sounded like I had sidestepped that. "Does everyone get someone like you? Or is it specific to me?"

"Everyone will get an administrator though I must admit it is rare for one to get one like you did."

"What do you mean?"

"Ordinarily the first time you summon an administrator I would only be confirming the creation of a camp. You would then need to improve it to a village and then to a city. Once you did that I would be able to appear permanently. We ordinarily would have had two conversations before you completed that third step. You have skipped it entirely. It is truly impressive. Are there others who have done that?"

"I was hoping you would know. As far as I understand it I am the highest level person on earth. Though based on the titles I have I should also be the strongest person. I am not sure about the monsters but I think I am stronger than all of them too."

"Glorious. Are you planning on conquering this planet then? It is your right."

I blinked several times at the intense fervor in the thing's voice. It was almost like it would summon an army out of thin air if I said yes. "Right now my goal is to build my faction. I imagine that I will be involved in the fight for the direction of the planet. I need to make myself stronger before I think about conquering anything though."

"Very well for now there are a few details that we have to iron out. I have integrated myself with the building. In addition, you must decide the name of your city."

I nodded and decided to focus on the name first. I smiled as the name decided itself. Was it vain to name a city after yourself? Absolutely. Was I going to do it anyway? Absolutely. "Amara, the everlasting city."

"Of course. The city of Amara has been founded. It appears you have access to some purchases that would ordinarily not be available. Of them, I would recommend you purchase the 1st Realm Energy Conversion Array. It is a very popular array of newly integrated worlds. It would allow you to get this building up and running with spiritual energy. You have access to a higher quality variant that can drain the spiritual energy from the environment to power itself."

I grinned and nodded my head. Wasn't that exactly what I needed? "I want it how much is it?"

"One Million System Credits."

I swear I could hear a record scratch at that. That was right around one-third of my wealth. The battle with the birds had earned me around five hundred thousand so I wasn't exactly struggling. Still, did I want to spend that much all at once? I sighed and nodded. "Go ahead and spend it."

The next moment a wave of power spread throughout the room. The walls began to glow with golden splendor as strange symbols began to appear. It was as if I watched a painter create the most complicated sigil I had ever seen. I wasn't sure where it began and ended as the symbols spread along the walls and through the floor. The process had an ethereal beauty to it that left me in awe. It only lasted a few minutes but it felt like an eternity. When it finally ended I couldn't speak for a few moments.

"What in the world was that."

"It was the System engraving an array on the building. Ordinarily, an array like this would use flags but the improved model you have was better suited like this."

I nodded and reluctantly brought my gaze back to my administrator. "Can I learn how to do that?"

"Of course, you would need to learn how to create arrays and formations first. A process that usually requires high energy control. If you are capable then you could learn it like any other discipline."

"I see and I assume you can't teach me?"

"That is correct. My cultivation is focused on management and dealing with large amounts of information. You want an array master."

"An array master? I see. Sorry, do you have a name? I have just been thinking of you as 'Administrator' this whole time and that feels rude."

"My name is difficult to say with a mouth but you may call me Saanite"

I nodded and turned toward the System Hub. "Am I able to access the shop list you mentioned or do you have to do it for me?"

There was a brief pause and then a large scrollable screen appeared in front of me. It was very similar to the menu that we got for skills and spells. Only it was divided into a types of businesses. Most of which were greyed out. They all required a variety of things before I could select them. Some had population requirements, others required me to have the world capital. Some required me to have a large enough military or just a massive amount of land. There were a couple that I could buy though. The first of which was an academy. The original requirements had a red line through them but it should have required me to have half a million people. I would have then had to pay them fifty thousand 2nd realm credits. The only requirement I met was that the planet was within five years of the merger. Which didn't feel like much of an accomplishment.

"What's the conversation rate between first-realm and second-realm credits?"

"You require one thousand of the lower realm credits to equal one of the higher."

My eyes nearly popped out of my head as I did some mental math. Well, that would require me to spend days just slaughtering things. If it were anyone but me it would probably be impossible for a person to earn that much. Of course, it was more likely that you were supposed to collect the money from elsewhere. The greatest fundraiser of all time. I chuckled to myself at the thought as I turned back to the situation at hand. I made the choice only to get an error message. I blinked and read it twice. "Are you able to follow me or do you have to stay in this room?"

"I am free to go anywhere though I am only able to do my job inside your city. I am also not a combat cultivator so my ability to defend myself is nearly nonexistent."

I raised an eyebrow at that. "Why would you agree to go to other worlds if you couldn't keep yourself safe?"

"Ah yes, the System takes care of that and very few groups in the multiverse would risk its ire to hurt one of us. As long as we do not harm anyone that will stay the case."

I see. I have to go to a different part of the building. Will you follow?" I asked and stood up. Once Saanite agreed we stepped out of the office and into the wall. We were able to take the elevator this time which made the trip much more interesting. Spiritual energy made the lights seem more alive than normal. It was kind of like all the light bulbs had been supercharged only the light felt relaxing instead of painful. I led us to the ground floor and down the main hallway until we reached a large atrium. I assumed it was meant for events for one of the hotels. Or perhaps both of them. Either way, it was large enough for what I needed.

I confirmed the purchase and this time it went through. There was a pulse of energy and then the room around us began to change. It wasn't like the teleportation from my spell or the tutorial this was more like the room around us had another room placed on top of it. The differences between the two slowly changed as the new room became more real. It was a bit like looking at a video game where you had to place the improvements down in the spot you wanted them. The room was much bigger than I expected even taking up the floors above us. Despite this, the whole process was seamless. If I hadn't known that it wasn't originally here I would have guessed it had always been here. The new room was a bit like a modern mall or university. There was a large desk that took up half of the room we stood in with a staircase behind it. There was a display counter with dozens of stones spread out. Each stone had a name tag with words written in a language I had never seen.

"I take it you must be the leader of this city." A posh voice called from the top of the stairs. A moment later a woman in long flowing blue and black robes appeared. She had vaguely elvish features except for her eyes which were a deep amber and lacked a pupil. She was tall and lithe almost supernaturally so. Her skin was a flawless bronze color that made her seem more like a model than an educator.

"I am. I assume you are the leader of this academy."

"I am." She stepped down the stairs with a supernatural grace. It was as if she floated just above the ground with each step. "I take it you have never encountered an elf?" She gave a playful smile and snapped her fingers. As soon as she did it was like I had woken from a dream. The woman was still beautiful but now she looked more normal. Her skin wasn't as perfect, her steps were mundane. My eyes widened as I realized what had just happened.

"Did you glamour me?" I wasn't sure if I was more scared that someone could mess with my mind so easily or impressed.

"I did though it wasn't on purpose. It is a racial trait most people in the multiverse can defend themselves against which is what makes coming to these planets so much more fun. My name is Desbera and I welcome you to my academy. Or rather my branch." She offered me her hand alongside a curtsy.

I raised an eyebrow before deciding to go with it. I took her hand and brought it to my lips. I placed a gentle kiss and then raised my eyes to look into hers. I then put on my best young lord voice. "The pleasure is all mine. I am honored to be at your academy. You mentioned it's a branch location. Can you tell me more about it?"

She blushed which only made my smile deepen. After a moment she pulled her hand away and nodded. "Of course, Starfall Academy is a subsidiary of the Eternal Archive. There is little I can say about them, unfortunately. The academy began as an attempt to share knowledge throughout the multiverse. Due to constraints formed by the System, the academy entered into a formal agreement. We can offer our services to freshly merged planets that earn them in exchange we are permitted to share any information we can."

"Interesting. What are the limits on what you can share?"

"By large limitations are based on the leader of the city. In this case, it would be your cultivation. As you are in the first realm we can only share that knowledge with you. From there the things we can share are further limited by quests you perform. We can share the basic information with you and anyone you designate now."

"Young lord I would remind you that what the Starfall Academy considers 'basic' knowledge and what you would consider basic on this planet are not the same," Saanite added just as my disinterest began to grow.

I raised an eyebrow at the administrator before looking at Desbera. "What exactly are you able to provide."

She got a faraway look in her eyes as if staring at something I couldn't see. It was a bit creepy and I had to resist the urge to not look behind me.

"Huh? It appears we have been given a greater clearance than I expected. You can grant anyone access to the first realm tutors. They can share knowledge on gaining the most common and uncommon classes. For a select few with real potential, they may gain a rare class. We can also offer basic array training including intensified gravity and illusions."

"Are you able to teach array creation?" My excitement shot up at the idea of learning how to create my magical enchantments.

"Of course, there is an array instructor but that wasn't what I was referring to. You may not be aware of this but it is common in the multiverse to spend time training under the effect of arrays. It can help squeeze out the full potential of your body. It will become a much bigger opportunity for the second generation and for those who struggle to gather titles. That untapped potential can make a massive difference when it comes to a battle between equals. We also have a skill formation array to help guide individuals in improving or creating their skills and spells. We also have the basic information on the various refinements. Lastly, we can assist you in setting up any arrays or confirming any information you happen to come across."

I stared at Desbera as if she were Santa Claus. She just said they have everything I could need. At least in this stage of my cultivation. It would be child's play to invite people to follow me if I just gave them access. My smile slowly died on my face as I realized something. This was way too good to be true. There had to be a drawback. As if sensing my emotions Desbera smiled before continuing. "There are a limited number of seats until a person graduates from the academy. We are also not allowed to just give away materials. The basic things are covered but if you want your potential students to have practice materials you will need to pay for it. I glared at her and then up at the ceiling. How did I manage to get saddled with student debt in the apocalypse? Still despite what was starting to feel like a debt-creation scheme I had to admit the services were worth it. Even with the limit and the cost I should be able to recruit a literal army. Hell if I could get five hundred people there classes they should be strong enough to deal with just about anything nearby. I nodded to myself, pushed the pain of the money down, and turned to Desbera. It was time for me to explore my new school.