NOVEL NEXT 55. Pure and Simple
Alicia and Shen had underestimated how much people wanted to fight for AP. Or how many people there were in the tutorial.
Tens of thousands were already in the AP Arena, and the number was increasing by the minute. The spectators' seat had gotten further away from the center, where Shen stood alone.
He had been battling non-stop except for the one-minute break after duels, when no one could challenge him. He had won over ten thousand AP from others already, and it seemed to have become a matter of honor to be the one to defeat him. There was even a line of people waiting to challenge him.
He took them all with pleasure.
The more AP, the better. He wanted to take some classes, and who knows how much things would cost in the future? He even delayed ranking up to ensure he wouldn't lose the opportunity.
Yet, as the first hour turned into the second, the second turned into the tenth, and the first day passed, Shen found himself caring less and less about AP and more about his Path.
The fights were way too easy. Shen was so above everyone else that he wondered how they had survived until now. Their personal power was very lacking.
Was that the true power of fighting as a team? Could an assortment of people synergize so well that they accomplished the same he did, despite their glaring individual weakness?
A sword missed his head by a hair's breadth. Shen impaled the wielder and turned slightly transparent.
| Duel won. Reward: 200 AP
| Total AP: 69,234
He had never even considered the possibility of pursuing a Path that cared for others first. Paths that focused on healing or supporting others existed, but his life had mostly been one of loneliness in the library. His future Path, he had believed, should also be trod alone.
Had he been wrong?
The cultivator way was the way of focusing on the individual to benefit the collective. A strong cultivator guaranteed safety for those below them. Was it so different in the Alliance? Shouldn't an A-rank be more critical to a nation than a group of B-ranks, and so on? Why was the end of the second stage and this third stage focusing so much on team strength?
Shen knew why focusing on individuals might be a bad idea. When the leader of the Cai Clan had fallen, his clan had fallen with him. If a race also lived or died depending solely on their strongest, it would be a matter of time until, one day, they found themselves without someone strong enough; then the Void would consume them. The weak could be trained to fight the strong together to prevent that.
But was that really the best way? If the Void was so strong, could a bunch of weaklings really fight it?
Shen doubted it.
No matter how many ants got together, if their bite wasn't strong enough, they couldn't damage a block of metal. Oh, they might make it harder for the block of metal to crush them, but it was only a matter of time before they were eradicated.
Was that it, then? The answer? Each extra second they held on was an extra second the Alliance's investment was paid off. It made sense for the Alliance to train new races to withstand the Void for as long as possible.
Shen reckoned it was also an extra second the race had to train an elite. The system had talked about elites before, even rewarded them. It had been the top 10% back then too.
Was this the Alliance's master plan? Train the masses to not be utterly useless if they were needed while the elites soared to higher heights? But if so, why was this AP Arena like this? It didn't put only elites against each other. He was fighting weaklings and gaining nothing—
He realized it then.
The Alliance was showing the weak how much they had yet to improve; how much they could improve. Shen was being used as a sharpening stone and goal for the others. He was also displayed as someone they might count on if the need arose.
The strong protected the weak in the Eternal Empire. It was their duty and privilege. It seemed the Alliance expected the same of humankind.
Was that his Path, then?
| Duel started. State your bet.
"One hundred AP," he said mechanically.
| 100 AP deducted.
| Total AP: 69,134
| Duel started. Time limit: 10 minutes.
Shen barely glanced at his adversary as he kept thinking.
He had considered not long ago how terrible it would be to pursue power for power's sake. But wasn't that his due? His duty? Shouldn't he do his very best to improve so others could grow safely in his shadow?
How arrogant was that thought?
And how true?
A Path was one's past, present, and future; the journey and the destination; their most intimate truth and aspirations.
Shen...
| Feng Shen — 94 / 100 | -6
An arrow struck his forehead. It didn't penetrate more than a few millimeters. He focused on his opponent, a boy on the other side of the Arena. Some tried to attack from a distance, thinking they could outrun him.
He rushed at the boy, killed him with a single spear strike, and started returning to his original position.
| Duel won. Reward: 200 AP
| Total AP: 69,334
Where had he stopped? Oh, yes. His Path.
To pursue the power to protect other people was to pursue two different things: power for oneself and protection for others. The latter depended on the former, and both could fit a Path, but only one of them could be the very foundation of his future.
What did he care more about? Growing more powerful or protecting others?
Who was Shen, really, and what was he willing to do to accomplish his goals?
He found the answer deep within himself, and it terrified him.
"Teleport to my bedroom," he said, the system took him away, and he sat in a meditative position.
Self-improvement through battle and victory, protection through power, growth through destruction.
Shen knew what his Path was.
His people would survive, for he would bring damnation over their enemies. They would flourish on the soil fertilized by the blood of his fallen foes. They would thrive on the subjugated land of their would-be captors.
Shen knew who he was.
He was a living weapon aimed at his adversaries; victory was survival, defeat was a learning experience to improve the next time, for he would never stop. He was a tool with one goal only: to crush his enemies. Wherever he was, it would become his if he wanted.
Shen walked the Path of Conques—
He raised his head and screamed at the heavens. No, no! That wasn't who he was! He wasn't a slaughterer, a conqueror! He had no desire for any greatness built on corpses!
If enemies came, he would defeat them. If wars came, he would win them. Death was a consequence of his path, not the goal. If humankind had to become parasites, only taking and taking to survive, it was better for them to die!
His was the Path of Justic—
Shen screamed again. He could feel the heavens pressuring him, forcing him to make a decision. The foundation of his Path had to be laid right now, they demanded. He was at a crossroads of fate, and the heavens would not be refused.
And wasn't the answer right there?
He refused to be pushed to make a decision. He refused to not improve. He refused to never win.
His was the Path of Defianc—
Shen screamed and screamed. When that wasn't enough to keep the pressure at bay, he used qi on his voice. His throat hurt, and he tasted blood. Around him, the qi started swirling.
He didn't want to be forced to be defined. Yet he also refused to be defined by his refusal. Shen was more. He was a complex human being. How could people pick their Paths so easily? What if it didn't fit them completely?
He hadn't even lived enough! He was sixteen and had been sheltered his entire life! How could he know who he was and who he would one day be?
His was clearly the Path of Indecisio—
Shen kept screaming, but there was no sound, for his vocal cords were gone.
Who was he? He didn't want to limit himself! The answer was so obvious! It had been with him all the time!
His was the Path of Boundlessne—
Screaming alone didn't work anymore. Shen clenched his spear and filled his body with qi. He hurt himself with the energy so the pain would ground him in reality.
Yet the issue remained. How could he limit himself like that? He couldn't.
His was the Path of Freed—
Shen made the qi hurt him even more. His health points dropped quick.
That made him realize it! Decreasing HP! It was so obvious!
His was the Path of Self-Sacrific—
Shen pointed his spear down and thrust it through his feet.
The pain grounded him, but the qi in the room had become a cyclone around him. He could feel in his bones that this was it. It was his last chance, the last pick. Either he chose the foundations of his Path right now, or something terrible would happen. The heaven's wouldn't be denied again.
And it was in the pain of his feet, in the shaft on his hand, that he found his truth.
Why complicate things so much?
A Path was one's past, present, and future; the journey and the destination; one’s most intimate truth and aspirations.
His past was the Spear, the weapon of choice of his clan, father, and dreams as a child. His present was the Spear, which he used to fight all his enemies and protect Alicia. His future was the Spear, he couldn't see himself picking another weapon.
His journey had been walked with the Spear until now, and he would keep holding it for a long time to come. His most intimate truth was that he felt naked without a Spear on his hands.
His destination? His aspirations? He would achieve them all with his Spear.
Shen had overthought and over-complicated things too much. He had never realized it until now, but he had thought of himself as too unique. As someone beyond being defined by single-minded Concepts. His arrogance showed again.
At the same time, he had also been too humble. Why set for a Concept to be the foundation of his Path when he knew his Path was an entire Law?
His was the Path of the Spear; such he demanded of the heavens; such he stole from Reality to lay as the foundations of his truth.
His mind connected to the Laws of the Spear, but he immediately recoiled in pain. He was too weak, too dumb, too little to touch on such grand truths.
Then, his mind connected to the myriad Concepts that the Spear encompassed. His brain almost physically exploded, and he forced himself to disconnect from most of them.
He could only hold onto three, and he chose them well.
Among everything the Spear was, he found himself using it to battle.
So he picked the Concept of Combat.
Among everything the Spear was, he found himself using it for battling multiple people, sometimes beside Alicia, and perhaps in the future beside others.
So he picked the Concept of War.
And among everything the Spear was, he used it physically as the weapon it was, to cut his enemies.
So he picked the Concept of Sharpness.
The three Concepts fused into a strange amalgamation that was more than a Concept, yet much, much less than a Law. They laid at the foundation of his Path as he drank from them.
Soon enough, Shen felt himself lacking too much to understand more of Sharpness, Combat, and War, but he knew just how to become more.
"Buy upgrade to E-rank," he said.
| Attempting to increase rank to E
| Requirement met: Knowledge of a Concept
| Purchased: Rank Up (E) | -10,000 AP
| Remaining AP: 59,334
| Applying deferred upgrades
The faint barrier he had once felt in his body disappeared. The system made him float, extending his arms and legs. The hair he had regrown fell at once, warmth filled his body, and his body was reconfigured once again.
Shen could feel his existence being pushed beyond the mere physical. His body didn't just feel lighter, it became lighter despite his muscles growing to match any experienced warrior. His cells were compacted beyond the point that should've squished them. Matter became something more. The very atoms in his skin got closer than should be possible to grow more resistant.
Flaws were removed from his body. Genetic imperfections and limitations left through his skin in the form of a black oily substance. Some code was rewritten, his potential unlocked. Absolute physical symmetry was achieved.
As that happened, he felt his spiritual reach increase. He drew more from Sharpness, and from that day on, his spear would cut more than his enemies. He absorbed Combat, and from then on, he would know more about the intricacies of battle than the common man. He became one with War, and henceforth, he would become a general of every confrontation he faced.
All three Concepts could also encompass Boundlessness. Boundless Sharpness, cutting everything; Boundless Combat, improving conflict to perfection; Boundless War, consuming the multiverse in glory and misery.
A yet incomplete but hopeful Spear in all its glory, reaching toward the stars and beyond.
| Strength: F+ → E-
| Agility: F+ → E-
| Resistance: F+ → E-
Hours after the start of the rank-up, Shen was lowered back to the ground. Coincidence or not, that was also when his connection to the Concepts was removed.
Shen had started that day with complex doubts and a broken Path.
Now, he walked the Path of the Spear, pure and simple, and it sufficed.