NOVEL NEXT Chapter 9: The Path of Cultivation
The next day's lesson was as I expected. Less than half of the usual crowd was here which meant most people had no interest in going any further. I was happy to see that both Tyrone and Ajani were still here but I decided to not sit with them. The fewer people made it a lot easier to get closer to Ajani. The meeting resembled a very large town hall as opposed to the usual football stadium vibe. Aina was not pleased by the change but they didn't bring it up.
"Good day. It is time for us to discuss what cultivation is. The exact nature of cultivation has been debated for millennia but the most common definition is as follows. To cultivate is to be better, it is to grow in a myriad of ways. It is to be the metal under the hammer of your own will. The world of cultivation is one of equal parts glory and pain. Fame and irrelevancy. Entire civilizations burned so that new ones can stand up to their ashes."
"Why would anyone want that? It doesn't sound like everyone has to be a cultivator right?" A black woman with thick curly hair asked with a horrified look on her face. Aina's gaze passed over each of us as if he wanted to be sure we were all listening. "I imagine that some of you already know the answer to that but I will give you a simple and profound answer. It is because they want to."
The simple answer dispelled the heaviness that had blanketed us. I looked around and most people were confused but a few looked excited. Ajani looked like the answer was obvious while Tyrus looked bored. I turned my attention back to Aina but my mind was elsewhere. How did I feel about it? The memory of the metal man nearly killing me flashed through my mind. The memory was so vivid that my body ached. The sense of terror at being so close to death. The pain that made me want to give up. All of it formed a knot in the pit of my stomach but there was more. A hunger, a hunger to win the next fight and the fight after that.
"Either way it isn't important for you to understand now. What is important is that you process the four fundamental needs of cultivation. The first of which is wealth or resources. To be a cultivator is to push yourself to your limits. You will need money which is part of the reason powerful organizations like sects, clans, tribes, or empires exist. The people at the top need to gain resources so they fight. They war and grab what they need from the bodies of their enemies."
"So the powerful are just abusing the weak? Even the rest of the multiverse is no different than Earth." This time the speaker was a white man who looked exhausted. I couldn't tell if he was really that old or if the look of hopelessness on his face made him seem old.
"I suppose you can look at it like that. Some unorthodox cultivators do horrid things to people under their control but it is not always a bad deal. As you have seen on a small scale here, not everyone is a combatant. Not everyone wants to risk their lives in battle. Those people contribute to an organization in their ways. They farm the lands, manage the estates, and do the thousands of other jobs that need doing. Is it not more accurate to say that they are buying protection? That is not to say that everyone in the multiverse is altruistic, they certainly are not. It is simply to help you understand that things are more complex. It will be you who determines what the situation looks like when you experience it."
"So the rich are still the powerhouses?" The older man let out a dry chuckle. "I take it that they use System Credits then?"
"They do and spirit stones. Your planet will be abundant with new resources so it is not as bad as you may believe. Still, the powerful organizations will be able to drown you in wealth. Wealth is only but one of the pillars of cultivation though. The second is companionship. Despite the individual nature of cultivation, you can not do it alone. Whether you need crafters to create the items you need, managers to run your territories, or warriors to guard your back. Not to mention proper educators to help you solve the myriad of questions you will face. No matter how strong you are, you will need companions on your journey."
This time there were no questions and Aina looked pleased and gave us a nod before he continued. "Next you have technique. In a more literal sense it refers to things like your cultivation manuals but in this case, I mean it more largely. You need to know what to do, how to do it, and why you do it. For the more martially inclined you must learn how to move with your weapon, when to attack, and when to retreat. For the spell casters, energy manipulation is key with it you can construct walls and reshape the environment. At its core you do not need to reinvent every single thing, you must be able to learn from the people who came before you. In some ways, this will be more difficult for you all. Your planet is new. You all will make the future elders of your world's clans or noble houses. All is not lost for you though. It is not unusual for the System to take dimensional pockets and connect them to newly formed worlds. These can hold anything from the tombs of long gone cultivators lost to history to the remains of long-dead civilizations."
I raised an eyebrow at that. "How would we find those? Assuming that they exist on our planet?" Several heads looked between me and Aina as we waited for their answer.
"I am unable to tell you that. It is not within the purview of this lesson. The fourth and final pillar of cultivation is the environment. I am sure you all remember the notification from the System. Your planet should be around the third realm. For now, that will be enough for you to survive and grow but that won't always be the case. As a general rule, a planet can only sustain a handful of people at an equal level as the planet. Even that would require all the resources of said planet to be devoted to their development. That is not the only problem. A powerful warrior can not be formed in the safety of his garden. This means that to grow you will need to explore the multiverse. You will need to leave in search of strong cultivation grounds, natural treasures, and a myriad of other benefits."
I nodded at that having already figured that part out. There was no way that we could just sit on Earth forever. Our history showed that empires would expand in search of new territory so why wouldn't the rest of the multiverse be the same? Of course, it was different knowing it intellectually and being told it. I had no idea how to even leave the planet so it was a problem for the future.
"That isn't a problem for you now. Your main focus needs to be on accruing accomplishments for your class. I am sure all are curious about how you obtain your classes. The first step has already been explained. You must reach level 20. Upon doing so you will need to get access to a System Hub. From there you will be presented with the classes the System has decided would be best for you. There are things that you can and should do to improve your results. The first and easiest of course is gaining accomplishments. The enemies you defeat, and the titles you earn are amongst many of the things that will influence your class choices. The method you use will be just as important. A swordsman will want to complete the majority of their tasks with the sword for example."
I nodded along and figured that based on my attributes I was on a one-way trip to some kind of mage or psychic class which was expected. "Does our attribute configuration matter?" I raised a hand this time although it wasn't necessary for Aina to see me.
"Yes and no. The amount of points you earn before your class is relatively insignificant in the long term. It will affect the classes you have access to. You must focus your points in that intended direction, if you wish to have a martial class you should focus on the attribute directly related to the style of warrior you want to be. Same as a mage class or a mental one."
That was what I expected so no surprise there. Based on what I was doing my classes would be psychic-themed which was pretty cool. A few more questions were asked to Aina's clear delight but none of them were especially relevant. If we were to reach level 20 while in the tutorial they would supply us with a convenient System hub it would suck if we had to wait to find one. Aina refused to elaborate on how we did that. They said that it was something for a future lesson. I was just about to head back to my apartment when someone asked a question that I hadn't thought about.
"Um excuse me Aina what exactly is a class?" The voice belonged to a young man. Based on his appearance he might not be eighteen yet. I turned around when I heard the question and mentally chided myself for not asking that earlier. Based on the reactions of the people closest to me I wasn't the only one.
"A class is a systematized collection of skills or spells based around a central theme or concept. They are designed to make it easier for you to comprehend the Great Tao. You gain access to the class system at level 20 but you do not have to take one at that time. It is not uncommon for people to hold off on class selection in the hope of better options. That method is a bit of a dual-edged blade since the attributes you gain from your class are much higher than what you get before that. Classes are widely arranged by rarity, for you all Common through Epic are possible with common being the most likely starting point."
I didn't consider it for more than a moment. I had to get an Epic class. "Is it possible for us to earn an Epic class as the first one? By doing things in the tutorial I mean?" My question interrupted another person's and I was slightly sorry about that but I pushed the thought to the back of my mind.
"Theoretically yes. You would need to push yourself and earn the higher-tier rewards. It would also require you to gain insight into at least one Tao strand." Just as I was about to ask my follow-up question Aina shook their head. "The Tao is a complicated subject and is beyond what the System has allowed. If you wish to pursue it then I will say that it requires meditation and understanding. Now I believe today's session has concluded I wish you all the best of luck in your next assignment."
I considered trying to get more information from them but quickly decided against it. A slight pressure had descended on the area and I wasn't about to risk lightning for it. Instead, I made my back to my room. It was good to know that I would get new spells as soon as I reached level 20. It did lead me to an interesting question. I pulled my spells list just to confirm. Each one had the number one in a bracket in front of them at first I hadn't thought anything about it but what if the one wasn't random? What if it meant that the spell was limited to the first stage or realm? It would explain what the upgradable part meant.
I doubted I could upgrade one of the spells now. One of them had reached Advanced so I knew I had to upgrade the other to that at least. Though I was pretty sure there was a higher level than "Advanced" " if I assumed this System worked like a game then either Expert or Master would be the highest unless there was a grandmaster tier or something. I couldn't help but grin at the idea of what my upgraded spells could do. I relished in the excitement for a few minutes before I turned my attention back to what had to be done. I still wasn't even halfway to level twenty and the tutorial was in its second week. I stepped into my cultivation chamber and sent a bit of energy into my rug. It took me a minute to calm my mind enough to start drawing in energy.
Unfortunately, the energy that flowed into me was barely a trickle. It was hard to tell how long I had been in cultivation but I decided to stop after what felt like four hours. It was hard for me to determine just how close I was to level ten but I could tell that I would need to get into a fight with a powerful monster to make it. The thought still felt a bit foreign. Monsters like that metal man could kill me but I was just as thrilled at the idea of fighting them as I was afraid of dying. I wondered if that was how adrenaline junkies felt when they did their stunts. Either way, there was nothing more for me to do tonight. I headed for bed a few minutes later.
The next day was devoted entirely to cultivation. I could feel my channels were mostly formed. There were the smaller ones that spread through my head that were a bit blurry to look at but since I didn't have any spells in that area, so I didn't think it was a big deal. I also attempted to touch on whatever the "Grand Tao" was but didn't make much progress. There was a brief moment where I thought I felt something. A bit like an itch in the back of my mind but when I tried to focus on the sensation I lost it. It was a bit like I had tried to hold water in my hands. The more I tried the more it just slipped away. I also spent a bit of time focused on my spell sigils but didn't make any progress there either. I could spot some similarities in two of them but I wasn't sure if that was due to their shared theme or if it was a part of some kind of sigil language.
Altogether I considered the the day a mixed bag. No major progress was made but it felt like I was building the foundations for a future build. I woke up early the next day and made my way to the meeting area. This time there was virtually no one here. There was a handful of other early risers and the flying woman although she was seated this time.
When she saw me she let out a playful laugh before she blurred and appeared in front of me. It happened so fast I couldn't react. "Ah, there's the interesting human. Are you excited to be able to control your quests?"
"Ah, you could say that yeah. I want to get stronger and this seems to be the best way to do it. Can you tell me anything more about it?"
"Hmm? No not really. You will get to pick based on how likely you are to die. Your rewards will be better based on how well you do. Oh right, you can pick a group to go with you but everyone has to agree on the difficulty and you will get rewarded based on contribution. So now hiding and letting the strong people deal with the monsters."
I stared at her blankly for a moment before I shook my head. "Right, is it based on average ability or are the difficulties curated to the individual?"
"It's based on the average tutorial taker from a world rated similarly to Earth. It wouldn't do to give you a quest rated for people who always had access to spiritual energy of course."
"So the System didn't bring Spiritual energy with it? So where does it come from?"
"Oh? Now that is a question a bit beyond what you are qualified to know. I can say that it comes from all over the place."
"Is there a reason you can't just tell me everything I want to know? You always stop before the System descends."
"Ah well we have a specific set of information we can give technically we are allowed to go beyond it on occasion but there is no point. Knowledge gained for free is rarely used well and rarely valued. If you want those answers then I suggest you go and search for them yourself. Now it's time for you to make your choice. I hope you survive." As soon as she finished her entire body blurred and then she was gone. I looked around but there was no sign of her. I only had to wait a few more minutes before a notification box appeared in front of me. I reviewed the information quickly and debated what I wanted to do. I could choose between a 5% chance of death and 99% so no surprises there. I eliminated every option below a 30% chance of death and above 70. Thirty would be way too easy and above seventy was flirting with death to a point that I wasn't about to risk. I was confident but not that confident. Once people started to disappear I realized I had to make a choice. I looked it over again and selected the middle option. A fifty-fifty shot sounded like a strong start. Immediately after I made my choice I felt the teleportation start up.