A golden barrier surrounded the lotus and in the next moment, we charged each other. Two psychic blades appeared in the air before me as I thundered toward the ape. The giant ape's arm glowed and seemed to double in size. A scream of danger forced me into a baseball slide. The slide took me underneath a blow that looked like it would shatter mountains. I launched both blades just before diving away. A pillar of metal shot out of the ground where I had stood. I unleashed Psionic Rain imbued with the tao of lucidity only to have the attack blocked by a shimmering metal wall. My eyes widened as the ape ran forward and slammed an oversized fist into the sheet of metal. I shifted Psychic Aegis from its bubble form and into its wall form just as the metal sheet shot at me like a cannonball.

My wall shattered after exhausting the metal's momentum. I turned and prepared myself for the next attack only to find the ape staring at me. We circled each other for a moment and I half expected more of the lesser monkeys to appear but none did. The ape then surprised me again by bringing all four of its hands together and bowing. I cocked my head to the side and copied the move. The ape then took a step back and I laughed. This was like something out of a martial arts movie. A scream of danger ended the joviality. The ape blurred and I threw myself to the side. The ape reappeared in front of where I had stood and slammed a fist forward. An explosion of tao that felt like a mountain had just slammed into the building spread out from its fist.

I unleashed Psychic Blast in its beam forward and indigo light bathed the massive monkey. It staggered a step and I conjured another pair of blades. I imbued both of them with my Taos before unleashing them. The ape let out a roar and ripped a chunk of metal out of the roof. It turned its makeshift shield around and it emitted a familiar heaviness. I shook my head ruefully as the ape once again blocked my attack. I unleashed another Psychic Blast that the ape narrowly avoided before launching its makeshift shield at me like a frisbee. Time slowed to crawl as I spun out of the way only to find a fifteen-foot-tall gorilla launching itself at me. My head felt like it was being split open as I imbued another mental blade with the tao of adamance. The blade shot for the gorilla's chest just as it brought two of its large hands down into an overhead slam.

The blade hit home and I rolled to the side. The giant ape slammed into the rooftop with a deafening roar. The ground cracked beneath his weight. I conjured another blade and imbued it with the tao of lucidity. As soon as it slammed into the ape's back it wavered on its feet. I took a step back and circulated spiritual energy throughout my entire body. Before I could think about what I was doing I launched myself into the air. I leaped over twenty feet into the air and shifted all the spiritual energy I could into my fist. I then slammed down onto the ape like a meteor. The floor held up for a second before shattering beneath the force. An explosion of spiritual energy flooded my dantian as we went into free fall. I fought against the darkness creeping at the edge of my vision and pushed off from the ape's corpse. I directed some of the rampaging energy into the sigil for Apportation. The portal opened up underneath me as my dantian overflowed. I reached level 26 and reappeared on the rooftop. Pain shot through every part of me and I wanted nothing more than to curl up in a ball. I fought the urge.

The golden barrier that protected the lotus from our attack disappeared and my soul screamed for it. I half stumbled my way toward it to place it in my bag. Despite what my body told me there was no way I would consume a random rooftop item. Each step made my feet feel like they were encased in lead until I collapsed. I laughed as my victory sunk in before I could claim my prize the darkness claimed me. When I woke up the sun had already set and my headache was gone. I got to my feet and was surprised to see that no monkeys had climbed up. I was probably at my weakest in that moment but I wasn't complaining. My attention was brought back to the lotus that floated inside of a dimly lit golden pillar. It was hard to reconcile the original golden radiance with the light in front of me, this was closer to someone holding up a flashlight beneath it. The treasure's effect on my soul hadn't changed. I made my way over and placed my palm underneath it. I slowly and gently lifted it out of the light.

The pillar winked out immediately but my focus was devoted to the beautiful lotus. It was a mix of golden and white that reminded me of the sun. It was so light that I was worried an errant breeze would send it flying through the city. Competing desires warred in my mind as my very core wanted me to devour the flower while a dull ache in the back of my mind warned against it. I decided to stick with the original plan and placed the lotus in my bag. I grimaced as I felt the bag leak some of Flower's spirituality. I made a mental note to ask Desbera about a refrigerator that I could carry with me. I pulled up my status screen and placed the two points into Agility. That last fight and climb made it very clear that I needed to be faster.

Next, I checked my spells and sure enough, Apportation had leapt to Intermediate proficiency. It looked like the new maximum range was around half a mile which was amazing. It also revealed a small problem, this movement spell was meant for long-range teleportation. I either needed to get one for short range and combat movement or I would need to keep improving agility. On top of that, I also needed to get more offensive options. Psychic Mastery let me create basic attacks but I still lacked anything that could end the fight. Hopefully, my level 25 spell would deal with that. Fortunately for me the quest already read as complete. I decided not to claim it now though. On the off chance that it provided a vision, I wanted to be somewhere relatively safe.

I gave the rooftop one more glance and then made my way to the hole we created. I let out a low whistle when I saw just how far up I was. The corpse of the giant ape had to be more than two miles beneath me. Its body looked broken, the muscles that looked like they could punch holes in mountains were twisted and dim. "We really could use the meat. Especially if stronger creatures could provide tangible buffs. I sighed and fell forward. The wind ripped by me as I plummeted toward the ground. Terror and excitement filled the pit of my stomach as the world rushed up at me. I waited until I was sure Apportation would keep me safe and opened the portal. I fell through the entrance and got to my feet. I still didn't understand how the portal exhausted my momentum without hurting me but that was a mystery for another time. The portal reopened and I stepped out next to the ape. "It was a good fight." I wasn't sure why I felt the need to speak over its corpse. It was very dead and from the looks of it, the ape took more than a few lesser apes with it. Still, I felt like it deserved respect. I placed a hand on the corpse and it turned into light before streaming into my bag.

My solemn mood was ruined when I saw how many slots the big thing took up. "I need a better bag." I quickly collected a few more corpses before I stepped out into the night. I pulled up my map and made a note of a new town to the South. Part of me wanted to head there immediately but that wasn't realistic. I needed to deal with corpses and the lotus. I sprinted in the direction of Amara. The run through the city was uneventful. Either the monsters had all fled this area once the quest ended or they were giving me a wide berth. Either way, I was fine with it. I wasn't in the mood to get into another fight. I stopped to collect a couple of wolf corpses that were in good shape. I wasn't sure if our crafters could make pelts yet but they would be better than nothing. When I reached the city the sun was just starting to peek over the horizon. I found a trio of guards, two of which were wielding metal pipes instead of guns which was progress. The sole gun user was an older woman in her forties with greying hair.

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I confirmed that they hadn't seen anything worrisome before leaving them to their watch. I arrived at the doors to the city within thirty minutes. Saanite drifted up to me just as I stepped inside.

"Hello, Governor. I hope your trip has gone well." Saanite's core pulsed a dark blue color as it spoke. Something that reminded me a bit of a black hole.

"Yeah, I received an area quest for a natural treasure. How are things?"

"Fascinating. Your holdings are fine. The second settlement has been running into minor issues with roaming monsters. I have sent some of the forces here to help deal with it. We have not seen any more of the government officials that stopped by previously. Lastly, the attempts at cooking some of the more energy-rich foods have not borne fruit. The cooks are struggling to find a temperature at which they can prepare it without burning it. I have authorized the purchase of an array that will keep food from spoiling."

I nodded. "I have some more meat. Some of it came from a giant ape and its smaller brethren. The beast was strong enough to push me pretty hard so its meet should be good. Do you think they could make it into jerky?"

Saanite just pulsed in the air for a moment and I wasn't sure if it was thinking about my question or if it was ignoring it. I was just about to ask again when it started speaking. "I am not sure. I have seen some of the humans with hunting experience turn the mundane animals into jerky but doing so to a powerful creature could be harder. I will have them begin work on the process."

I nodded. "Can you lead me to the storage room?" I fell into pace behind the assistant. "Have you heard anything about any other cultivators? I find it hard to believe that none of them have come here."

"I have not. Though I imagine that the other places are doing a better job of recruitment. If you wish to improve that I would suggest you display your power more prominently. Between your strength and the academy you have the beginnings of a force."

"Yeah, but I don't want to get stuck with people who want to rely on me to save them. I can't be the only fighter or else I will get stuck here forever."

"I wouldn't recommend that either. It is your role to keep growing in power to protect your territory. My role as your assistant is to manage the day-to-day. You also have the group of humans you are raising to further assist. Cultivation is not a road to embark on alone."

I sighed and nodded my agreement. Saanite led me to a room on the bottom floor that had been emptied all furniture and had the carpet removed. Complex sigils traveled along all four surfaces of the room. The room was divided into four sections where different kinds of meat were left. Some of which belonged to the disgusting bugs. I had to resist the urge to puke at the thought. "How come it isn't cold?"

"The array doesn't rely on the Tao of Ice to work. Instead, it uses a combination of taos to purify the surroundings and slow decay. It keeps the food safer for longer than refrigerator devices. If you would prefer we could have some of those brought in as well."

I shook my head. "Not yet. Despite the size of this place we will have to expand sooner or later. Once we do that we should set up proper warehouses."

"I do not intend to question your judgment but why would you not simply purchase spatial arrays? Similar to the one that controls your bag? You would be able to store goods inside rooms that would be larger than most buildings on this planet."

I raised an eyebrow at that. "Are we able to get those arrays?"

"The simplest of them should be available in the System shop but the more advanced versions will require a proper store."

"Alright for now we will continue as we have been. Can you have someone come and take care of the meat?" I started pulling everything out and stacked in the furthest corner with the rest of the unprocessed animals. The giant ape took up nearly half of the room by itself and I was thankful that I didn't have to deal with it. Once I finished I left the room and headed to the academy. When I arrived I found Christopher and Desbera seated at a table drinking.

"Ahh Greetings Governor Amari," Desbera said with a pleasant smile.

"Hey glad to see you are back safe and sound," Christopher added.

"Hey, I could use your help identifying something you are able?" I asked and made my way over.

Desbera gestured to the table and nodded. I summoned the lotus from my ring and gently placed it on the table. No sooner had I released it did Desbera stood up and ran behind the desk. She tore through things until she found a small black box. Which she tossed to me. "Quickly place that in there. If you are going to collect natural treasures you need a proper way to store them."

I nodded, placed the lotus inside, and sent a bit of energy to activate the box's array. "Alright, can you provide me with more of those?"

"I could but I couldn't do it for free." She smiled ruefully at me but before I could protest she continued. "The System has its rules. It wouldn't want people like us to arrive on baby worlds and crush the local economy. It would make us little more than sovereign makers. That is not our mission anyway. We are educators."

I sighed and nodded. "Have some prepared for me as soon as you can. For now, though can you identify the lotus?"

She nodded and grabbed an item that looked a bit like a monocle covered in dozens of tiny golden sigils. Even the glass was covered in them. She gently opened the box and the monocle doubled in size. She stood stark still as the monocle twisted and glowed. She stayed like that for nearly twenty minutes before it stopped. She then closed up the box and removed the monocle. "It is a peak 1st realm treasure though some of its spirituality has been lost during transport. It's called the 'Gilded Lotus' and it's a soul-nurturing treasure that you no doubt have noticed. It can be turned into an elixir that would provide its benefits immediately but I do not know how to do so. You can instead place it in your cultivation chamber and have it gradually refine your soul."

"Interesting. Speaking of cultivation chambers do you know anything about setting one up? Mine is more or less a closet with an energy array and a natural treasure."

She gave me a pitying smile that made me squint my eyes before nodding. "That I can help you with. It will be difficult to deal with before you have proper materials but I can arrange it to take advantage of natural energy flows and your treasures. Am I to assume that you will place the lotus inside as well?" I nodded. "In that case, I will get to it soon. Do I have permission to access the upper floors?"

"Yes, Saanite should be able to guide you there if I am not around. You can also make any purchases you need from the shop. I will leave a sizable amount of credits with Saanite to manage things while I am gone. If you need to make any serious changes to my quarters run them by either myself or Saanite first. Right now things up there are pretty malleable but I want to have a good place to rest."

"Of course, I will see to it as soon as possible. If you do not mind my asking, do you intend to take up array or alchemy classes? They aren't easy roads to walk but your energy control is rather impressive. On top of that rudimentary knowledge of arrays could save your life once you leave this planet."

I nodded. "I plan on doing at least one of them but it probably won't be for a while. My primary concern is in leveling up and getting a hold on what's happened to the world. After that, I will start to expand my focus. I still need to get some additional spells. I wouldn't mind access to some arrays to help me make my own though."

"I wouldn't recommend you do that just yet. It is typical to wait until you have fully exhausted your class before getting some from outside sources. There are some auxiliary spells and skills that should work for you. Language skills are especially recommended."