"Everyone take a seat on the mat you have been provided. It is yours and you will have to earn another one. Your goal is to form a connection between yourself in the spiritual energy in the environment around you. Do not be disappointed if you can not do so immediately. It takes some people a bit longer than others."

I raised an eyebrow at that not sure if the woman was serious or not but when she made no attempt to clarify or change anything. I gave in and took a seat. I took one last look around and saw more than a few people with their eyes closed as if deep in meditation. I turned my attention back to myself. I still wasn't sure what connect to the spiritual energy meant but I figured I would get it as I go. After a few moments where nothing happened, I started my mind started to wander. Images of the orphanage and my former teachers floated in and out of my thoughts to the point where I wanted to stand and rush back to them. I let out a deep breath and pushed those thoughts down. There was nothing I could do to help them right now.

I doubted the woman would let me leave because I asked nicely. Even if she did, I could do nothing about the System itself. Would it just smite me with lightning again? I shook my head and mentally admonished myself for the distraction. I took another deep breath and brought my mind back to the task at hand. I decided to turn my thoughts to my senses. I focused on the sounds around me, the slight breeze on my skin. The scent of ozone still lingered in the air around me. I tried to connect with it, to let it enter my body or pass through me. It only took a second for something to change. A barely visible strand of energy passed into my body and toward my navel. I wasn't sure if it was real or just something I had imagined. I was about to open my eyes to call the woman over when the one strand turned into two, two became four and then four became eight. The strands multiplied rapidly, each connecting at the same point about half an inch behind my belly button.

"How fascinating." The cheery voice startled me awake. My eyes flew open only to find the woman who started all of this half an inch from my face.

"What the fuck." I started as I pulled away from her. "Why are you so close."

"I can't remember the last time I saw someone so beloved by the heavens. I can't wait to see what your affinities are." With that, she turned and ran up through the air. She didn't stop until she was a hundred feet up. "Well, I can't wait to see what the rest of you come up with. You can find an information stone at your feet with a proper cultivation technique inside. For those of you who have managed to pull energy inside them, you will want to push a small portion of it into the stone. Once you do, the information inside fills your mind. After that, it will be time for you to use the technique and become proper cultivators. The method you all have is a very basic technique that will help form your channels in preparation for your future class. All of that is a concern for later, for now, you all need to select a skill that will defend you for most if not all of the tutorial."

I raised an eyebrow when I noticed the palm-sized translucent stone in front of me. The stone was some kind of uncut gemstone although I had never heard of one that looked quite like this one. It reminded me a bit of uncut glass only much foggier and covered in strange rune-like lines. I picked it up and focused on the mental image of that first strand of energy. At first, I tried to send the energy directly from my stomach and into the stone but that failed. It was like the energy wanted to pierce straight through my stomach and I did not want to test what would happen if I forced it unless I had tried everything else first.

It was her comment about channels that gave me my next idea. It took me a few tries but I turned the tip of the energy stream into a thin needle and pressed it along my right arm. I imagined the path that my blood would take when it left my heart. It burned like a son of a bitch but nowhere as painful or uncomfortable as when I tried to just push it from my stomach. Once the energy reached the tip of my finger the pain intensified as before it left my body and entered the stone. A small drop of blood fell onto the stone just before my mind exploded with information. I let out a groan of pain as the cultivation technique poured into me. It was like the information had been downloaded into my brain. Although I still couldn't understand it all I quickly realized I had made a mistake. Based on the method what I had just done was the equivalent of carefully breaking a window to enter a room instead of a proper door.

I was on the right track though. I needed to create my channels which were for lack of a better term a secondary circulatory system that would let me move the energy from my dantian which was the spot in my stomach to every other part of my body. It also mentions skill slots that would be filled up over time. I would need to push my spiritual energy into those skills and then abilities would activate. I assumed that one such ability was that sphere of wind the woman used. The actual technique was much less interesting. It amounted to what I had done before only the energy would enter from my extremities and slowly head to the dantian. The energy would create basic flexible channels for me while it did so. Those channels would then be changed whenever I got my class. I pushed the information to the back of my mind as a screen appeared in front of me. The screen was similar to what my status screen looked like only it was divided into two categories and had a scroll wheel.

"Now it is time for you all to select your skill. You will have the opportunity to pick between a martial skill or a magical spell. This will be your main way to protect yourself during the tutorial so think long and hard about what you pick."

I turned my attention back to the list. I skimmed the martial list for a second mostly out of curiosity. It had basic skills that you could find in any RPG. Things like "Slash", "Chop" and "Smash" It was slightly confusing since none of them said that we would get a weapon if we picked them but a glance around told me you did. There was a man in his late thirties or early forties who held a large two-handed hammer in his hands and I doubted he had managed to sneak it in. Either way, it didn't matter to me. I turned my attention to the spells tab and couldn't help but grin. The spells were also pretty basic but there were a lot. I could take something from all of the elements including things like light and lightning. There was even a psychic attack though it used Wisdom instead of Intelligence.

The woman's message about the significance of my pick made me hesitate. Based on what I already knew I could guess what she meant. The spell I picked now would influence what classes I could pick later. If I picked fireball I was going to always be some sort of pyromancer from now on. Which asked the question What did I want to be? It was easy to imagine myself cloaked in raging flames or covered in lightning but was that ideal? Based on the description all of these were basic spells so I wasn't going to be conjuring a sun or anything but it wasn't easy. This was like being asked "What did you want to do with yourself" or "Where do you see yourself in ten years" only it involved magic and was probably much more dangerous.

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I was pulled out of my thoughts when a burst of heat washed over me from behind. I turned my attention from my choices to find a woman conjuring a ball of orange flames above her palm. It took me a second to realize why I had felt the heat. The man behind her had become a bit too loose with his hands and she attacked him. Instead of the man being burned though an invisible barrier stopped her attack. Everyone waited for the storm clouds to return but nothing happened.

"Ah right, right I forgot to mention you all aren't allowed to hurt, maim, or enslave each other during the tutorial. Now that you all have been warned you won't get a second warning. Also, I would not recommend you test what the ruthless heavens consider "harm". That is a very dangerous game to play.

I turned my attention away from the group and back to my screen. It was pretty clear that the lady had left something key out just then. She made no mention of what would happen after the tutorial was over which meant the System's protection would end. History wasn't my greatest subject by any means but politics and the pursuit of power was something I knew well. If the world was in shambles then the social contract was worthless. That meant the monsters of humanity would start to play. There was no way in hell I was going to be anyone's victim. I focused on my choices but there was little new information here.

I gave it a few seconds of thought before I made my choice. The moment I did a stream of energy entered my body just like the information stone. A small sigil formed on my right hand. Rather in the empty slot in my channels. It was a bit strange since I could only see the symbol in my mind's eyes. I couldn't be sure that it was real although based on the information provided if I ever lost the sigil I would lose the spell. Not that I planned to lose my hand or anything. I also learned the basics of how to use the spell although I could tell that I would need practice. I sent just enough energy into the sigil to activate the spell and held my hand out.

I grinned as indigo energy crackled in the palm of my hand. The spell I had chosen was called **Psychic Blast**. I couldn't be completely sure but mental defenses were usually rarer than physical ones. That should give me a nice advantage at least in the beginning which might make all the difference when fighting for my life. Of course that assumed the enemies wouldn't be curated to be a threat to us individually or something. I quickly determined that I could use the spell in either hand which was a slight worry of mine. It would have sucked if someone could just hold my arm down and I was powerless. I tried to summon it again only to gasp and stumble forward a step. A sharp pain shot through my stomach. I mentally focused on my dantian and sighed in relief. I was just out of energy.

I decided that was enough for now and turned my attention back to the woman. "Alright, it looks like you all have gained your skills so it's time for the next steps. Gather up your mat and your crystal. You will head into the main dormitory. Each of you has been given a private residence for as long as you are here. Inside you will find everything you will need while you are here."

I gathered my things and joined the single-file line into the designated building. I immediately felt uncomfortable. The walls were all too identical and metallic. Everything was so sterile that I wondered if the System somehow purified everything. As soon as we entered people started to branch off. I wasn't sure how everyone knew where to go but I continued with the flow of traffic. I quickly realized something was off. The inside of the building was much bigger than the outside. There had to be at least a thousand rooms on each floor. The building held a central staircase case that seemed to go up and up endlessly. It wasn't until we reached the fifth floor that I found myself being drawn to a room. I stepped out of line and made my way down the right hallway until I reached my room. The whole process felt a bit like going through a prison.

When I saw what was inside I did a double take. It was nearly impossible to reconcile the inside which was a comfortable and cozy living room with the almost surgical hallway way. It was almost as if I had entered a completely separate space. I closed the door behind me and could no longer hear the people who continued. I absentmindedly wondered if they could make a recording booth like that. The room was spacious with both a chair and a couch. There was a fireplace but no wood to get it started. There was a sigil carved into the middle of it and I guessed that if I wanted to get some heat I would need to send some energy through it. I decided to leave it alone for now and checked out the rest of the room. There were three other rooms each one hidden behind a door. The first one was a simple bathroom and a shower. Both of these were activated with spiritual energy which made me curious. Was this energy how everything worked? Did you have to be a cultivator to activate it? If you did how did non-cultivators survive?

The woman made it seem like the System wasn't interested in them but surely that didn't mean they would just be ignored right? I mean even they would need to eat. I pushed the thought to the back of my mind and went through the rest of the rooms. The others were pretty simple. One was a bedroom with a king-sized bed which was nice. Another was empty except for a square spot the exact size of the cultivation mat. The information stone mentioned cultivating inside of a "cultivation chamber" was best so I assumed that was what that room was for. I left the mat inside and continued. There was no sign of a kitchen or anything related to food. I wasn't sure if that meant we would get food later at predetermined times or if it meant that we were on our own. I hoped I wasn't expected to hunt for my meals.

Regardless there was nothing I could do about it now. I considered going to bed early but there were two reasons I decided against it. First I had no idea what time it was. Everything had happened so quickly that it was impossible to tell just how long it had taken. The second reason was what the woman said before we left. Something was supposed to happen tomorrow. I was pretty confident that she wasn't just messing with us. Which meant I needed to do whatever I could to improve my chances. Which meant I needed to build up my channels. With my mind made up I made my way into my cultivation chamber. It took me a few moments to calm down and get into the right frame of mind. The actual method wasn't that difficult.

Within a few seconds, the energy passed through my body and toward my dantian. A burning sensation spread throughout my body which made the situation worse. The method explained that forming channels regardless of the method would be uncomfortable but doing so on your own would not only be painful but you risked ruining your future cultivation. It was something that either someone very desperate or very skilled would do. Despite the efforts, the weakness of the method quickly made itself known. The method was very slow. According to the crystal, the energy would fill my dantian which was an internal reservoir of energy. Each time the river filled it would expand slightly. At that point, I would gain a level. Each level would bring me benefits including attribute points. Unfortunately, this method was designed more for the creation and flexibility of your channels and not for speed. Still, it would only take me a couple of hours until I got my first level which should give me a slight edge tomorrow.