“It is a pleasure to formally make your acquaintance, Lillian. Or do you still prefer BunBun?”

Lillian grinned. “Call me either. I still sort of think of myself as both at once.”

“Excellent. Before we begin, do you have any questions for me?”

Lillian stared nonplussed at the peacefully smiling figure with his gentle silver eyes, serene demeanor and ageless features decked out in nothing more than the humblest cultivator’s linen robe. Yet Lillian could barely manage a peep, heart pounding with awe, wonder, and more than a little bit of fear.

“Are you really… him?”

Conceptio affected a puzzled blink. “Who would that be, Lilly?”

She gave him a hard look. “Come on, don’t pretend you can’t read my mind… that you aren’t somehow, what, in all my thoughts?”

This earned a completely unexpected chuckle. “I think you already know the answer to that question, Lillian. So how about we focus on answers to questions that you don’t already know?” His twinkling eyes didn’t quite hide the sudden intensity of his gaze. “And please understand that the questions I’m willing to answer are limited, so best not waste them on frivolity… unless that’s your choice?”

With her mind still reeling with the enormity of who she was talking to, she had to snap shut her hanging jaw, mind racing in a sudden panic, as every gamer’s instinct she had screamed at her to take absolute advantage of this opportunity and ask the questions that she knew from her frequent mind-melds with Eric when they had been master and familiar just how bitterly the corrupt powers that be tried to withhold answers to questions that would make all the difference in how they could ascend and blossom as Classers and cultivators and masters of their own ascending planet.

Knowledge was what she needed more than anything else.

She needed to know the answers to so many things, including the questions she didn’t even know she needed to ask yet. But before her excitement, exhilaration, and anxiety could overwhelm her, she did her best to steady her breathing and focus on what mattered. What small handful of questions could she ask right now that would do her the most good in the most practical sense imaginable? That was what she needed answers to, more than anything else.

She bit her lip, gazing into Conceptio’s gentle eyes, fearing that what she asked might be blasphemy… but it was one of the most important questions she had.

“Is it true that Classers who learn to cultivate… or cultivators who dare an ascension pod… may be offered hybrid classes far stronger than normal?”

Her breath hitched at the sudden intensity in Conceptio’s gaze… peering at her with all the focus of all the stats in the heavens. All the focus of the System itself, such that she felt like she was just a heartbeat from fading into the ether, so insignificant that she couldn’t even scream. Or there was no Lilly to scream. Just the gentlest susurration of the breeze in an empty room.

And an eyeblink later, the hideous pressure was gone as if it had never been.

There was only Conceptio’s enigmatic smile.

“Mana and Spiritual Energy are two of the most common paradigms for accruing power. The System has found Mana to be extremely efficacious in making full use of the Electromana spectrum, hence the name. Spiritual Energy is another approach that is quite powerful on an individual level. Yet far fewer souls with the potential to ascend are able to harness Spiritual Energy who additionally possess an intact set of Meridian Channels, fully functional Dantians, and proper cycling techniques. As your master might already have deduced, the System’s original function was as a symbiote system facilitating the accrual and use of significant upswellings of potency without the need for the far slower and arguably less efficient absorption pathway that is freeform cultivation.”

Lilly politely nodded at Conceptio’s pause. Seeing that she understood, his smile grew and he continued.

“That being said, the System is the farthest thing from an ‘opposing force’ that so many cultivators seem to thrive on honing themselves against in an antagonistic fashion. For the wiser and more prudent cultivator, they will find that having already proven themselves adept at channeling potency in the form of Spiritual Energy with fully intact meridiian gates and strong Dantians, that they are, in fact, the ideal candidates for walking the System’s Path, so to speak, and can take advantage of opportunities available to very few indeed.”

Conceptio’s smile grew. “But your question is more than an academic interest, is it not, Lillian Hendrix Silver?”

Heart skipping a beat, Lilly nodded. “It’s just, I… look, I know that hybrid classes are a way to sweet, sweet power, and damn if I don’t want the strongest class I can possibly get! Believe me, after overcoming that nightmare back there, I know that skill ranks and characteristics are absolutely everything, and I want as many as I can possibly get, since I’m not sure if I’ll ever earn another territory or title. But sure as anything, I want to level until there are no more levels to get!”

She winced, curbing her own unseemly enthusiasm, finally feeling ready to acknowledge her deepest insecurity. “It’s just that, well, I’m not sure if I even have the potential to cultivate, let alone know what the best possible cultivation path forward for me is, let alone how to channel the incredible potency I sense ready to explode into me, once we leave this hypothetical room in this hypothetical house that I know is not really here. But who cares if you can teach me things, right? I guess what I’m asking is, do we have time for me to get the proper foundation that I need before I can truly get a good class for myself?”

Conceptio gazed at Lilly for long painful moments, so intently that her eyes bounced away to scan the contents of the boring bedroom with its thin mattress, flea market table that held her ten year old computer and all her school books, and the many photos she had printed out of her and her father going to amusement parks and movies and celebrating birthdays and holidays together. She swallowed the sudden lump in her throat, feeling tears prick the corner of her eyes for memories that never quite were… yet so easily could have been.

She was startled out of her bittersweet reverie when Conceptio spoke again.

“There are several paths forward for you to choose, Lilly. And I can promise you that they all lead to paths of power that will serve you well in all your future endeavors.”

First he gestured to his left, and Lilly’s eyes widened to see a towering figure dressed in ebony plate armor with a scythe crackling with energies both arcane and necromantic. The saturnine-featured man with cold grey eyes and a measuring smile said nothing, merely dipping his head.

“Salvo, here, is a master of both the dark arts your father favors and the raw power of a Master Evoker. He, much like yourself, has learned the art of combining Blood magics with the most destructive spells you can fathom, feeding off his opponent’s potency even as he drains them dry of all life, only to bring them back as members of his eternal army, minutes later.”

Lilly’s eyes widened. “Damn, that sounds like a powerful combination!”

“It is,” Conceptio assured. “And it allows for the fluid use of both Arcane arts and a Master Necromancers unlimited potential, much like your father. And as a White-tier Classer, you will earn fifteen points per level as you ascend the ranks of a Battlemage Necromancer.”

Lilly grinned. “Me like!” She then frowned thoughtfully. “But, Um… I see the crown of bone and thorns around his helm and he looks like a serious, serious power. Would he really want to waste his time with a novice like me?”

Conceptio’s eyes twinkled with barely concealed mirth. “You’ve managed to raise yourself from the dead, were forged and bonded by a Master Necromancer who is, for all intense and purposes, now your biological father, and the Winter Queen’s blood, extremely powerful in its elemental affininities, flows through your veins. Only an arrogant fool would turn down yourself as an apprentice, Lillian Hendrix Silver. And I promise you that Salvo here is anything but a fool.”

Conceptio flashed a bleak smile. “He too had the good grace to gain the System’s favor, once upon a time, which is why his Path of Slaughter remains unchecked with no System Bounties on his head, to this day. No matter how much his foes absolutely abhore his necromantic arts.”

Lilly’s smile froze at those final words. She sure as hell wasn’t going to dare pass judgment on people who had undergone trials beyond her comprehension and ascended past what anyone else could have dreamed. It wasn’t her place to judge. Not considering her father’s path, or her own. But still…

“Um… is it okay if we see what other options might be available for me to consider?”

“Of course,” Conceptio assured as Salvo stepped back with the politest of nods. Lilly was just thankful he didn’t appear offended. Because she really, really didn’t want to be making enemies of any Master Necromancer who might have had centuries to amass their armies.

He then gestured to the man wearing cultivator’s robes much like Conceptio’s own, eyes twinkling warmly as he gave the gentlest of nods. “This here is Reny, A cultivator who has already achieved a Silver Core, and unlike the story books you and your father used to read, in this paradigm that puts him roughly equal to your grandmother, in terms of raw power. He’s also a revered and beloved master who has devoted himself to teaching. Under his tutelage, you will unlock the potential of your own cultivator’s heritage and find yourself blossoming with health, vitality, and a joy in life that you could scarcely fathom as you truly master your mind and body along with your connection to the world as a whole.”

Lilly shivered with wonder as a tired, frazzled and anxious part of her who feared she was still just half-alive was left humbled by the sheer joy she’d have blossoming to fruition in some lushly forested sanctuary overlooking a grand vista of crystal blue lakes and majestic mountains marching off into the distance. Her nervous eyes immediately felt soothed, gazing into gentle blue orbs filled with wisdom and love. Somehow, she just knew that if she were to bow before this gentle cultivator, she would awaken as a beloved disciple in a world far from here with all the chaos and trauma of her path a gentle dream as she filled her days with a growing awareness of the world in all its beauty and her place in it as her meridians tingled with glorious spiritual energy and her heart with the profound joy of just being alive.

She sensed as well that her mother and brother would be there too, alive and well and in the peak of health. Even if both were mortal, they would prosper as beloved servants, the rich spiritual energy in the air nurturing and revitalizing them, and cultivation tinctures were just one of the professions she could take that would allow her to bring health and vitality to countless mortals who revered her master’s cultivation academy, even as she happily put all ties to necromancy far behind her. And with fifteen points earned per level to blossom in ways befitting her own potential, she knew it would be no hardship at all, and that her cultivation path would become so strong that she too would one day be able to achieve a Silver Core with a pristine foundation, even if her lack of essences made the perilous summit to Gold an uncertain thing at best.

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

Yet just like the better slice-of-life cultivation novels, she knew she could stop and savor the peak of Silver for countless lifetimes and feel no lack, walking under the footsteps of world shattering giants, content with sanctuaries and accords forged eons ago that would keep her master’s realm safe from all chaos, just as she herself and her own future family would be for countless future generations.

Best of all, unlike any other path, she didn’t need to slaughter a single living thing in order to advance and ascend.

All she needed was patience and time.

A trembling Lillian flashed a heartfelt smile at the gently smiling man before her, even as her heart ached. “I’m sorry. But the burden I bear demands that I forge myself in the furnace of the moment, as much as I think I might really like the slice-of-life cultivator’s lifestyle… no matter how crazy my origin story is, compared to most of your students.”

Much to her relief the elder showed no offense, or even disinterest, rather honoring her with the bemused smile of an elder enjoying a granddaughter’s far-fetched tale… and wishing her the best regardless as he too gave her a gentle nod and faded into the mists of possibility.

Lilly shuddered. “Were either of them actually here?”

Conceptio shrugged. “Were you the daughter of a teenage boy who did his best to raise and care for you, despite constant obstacles and hardship?”

Lilly inhaled to give the obvious answer before pausing, because it so easily could have been just that. She really was Lillian Silver, and how her heart melted to have seen the love in his eyes, the love she had never received from her real father (former father. Eric’s my dad now!) even when she had quailed in terror at the ravenous hunger, the predatory stare that had nearly consumed him when first he had caught her gaze, nostril’s flaring like a predator’s having scented something it terrified her even to think of.

She immediately shook away her dismay, realizing how unworthy it was. In the end, Eric had chosen to love and cherish her. And that meant so much, because it was only by his will, his love, that he had infused her with the seed of life and a Contender’s boons… and so what if he had looked like his mother for a horrifying half-minute? In the end he had chosen his daughter above power and had earned her fierce love and undying support through thick and thin, no matter what happened from this day forward.

“I will always love him,” she said fiercely. “What he did for me. It doesn’t matter how close he had come to surrendering to whatever that nightmare thing was. What matters is that he fought to protect me and I will always honor that!”

“Good.”

Lilly blinked, surprised by the answer. Yet before she could follow up, Conceptio had raised his finger once more.

“There is one more path forward that is an ideal fit for your potential, Lillian Hendrix Silver.”

Lilly furrowed her brow, looking around her. “But I don’t see anyone except…” Her eyes widened when Conceptio’s smile grew.

“That’s right. Me.”

Lilly licked suddenly dry lips. “You can give me a class.”

His throaty chuckle was the last thing she expected of a System automaton. “I can give you the ultimate class, Lillian Silver.”

“Except for the silvery worms invading my thoughts and mind and changing me from within.”

Conceptio’s lips quirked into a bemused smile. “This from the revived rabbit who somehow found the strength to destroy a temple devoted to arts so twisted that they formed an event horizon not even I could pierce. A corruption that earned all goblins below Gold the most extreme censures and assured you their undying hatred, pretty much forever.”

Lillian winced. “Fuck.”

“On the plus side, you did save millions of souls from eternal torment very much mirroring biblical hell. And in doing so, earned a Silver-Tier boon which in this specific case can indeed earn you a class that I think you will find scratches that gamer’s itch tingling like mad within your soul.” He winked. “And even this lore, the Hero’s Path, is utterly forbidden by so many counsels and edicts passed by elder races who wish for nothing to disturb their political dominance or otherwise rock the status quo. But thanks to your virtue, you are eligible. And with your father’s boon, I may serve as the mentor countless aspirants seek, and few ever find.”

“How many points.” Lilly cringed at the sheer greed and mercantile focus of her question. As if that mattered one tiny bit if it meant one’s mind being shifted and melded and…”

“Twenty five. To spend exactly as you so wish, every level. Twenty five points that will be multiplied by your S-tier node configuration, a mirror of your father’s, if and when you ascend to Bronze.”

Lillians’ eyes grew as wide as saucers. “Really? Of fuck yes, come silvery brain serpents of delicious power-up goodness! Give me the details, revered and beloved System… PLEASE!”

Conceptio, who Lilly was pretty darn sure was an avatar of the System itself, steepled his fingers, gazing at her calmly, and not at all refuting anything implied in her banter.

“There is a cost to being elevated to the status of a System Champion, Lillian Silver… and many benefits as well.”

Lillian winced, her ears wilting. “Of course there is. You mean besides the brain worms?” She sighed. “Okay, lay it on me, doc. How bad is it?”

This earned a raised eyebrow, though Conceptio’s amused expression remained firmly in place. “That depends, Lilly. How attached are you to your revenants?”

Lilly winced, grimacing from the imagined screams of letting so many souls down. And her own despairing wail at the thought of losing her absolutely kickass army.

“What will happen to them?” She bit her lip. “Assuming I could or would ever give them up?”

“You need not fear on that account,” Conceptio assured. “Each and every revenant, or the spirit currently inhabiting their physical form, whether the original owner or no, would be gently ushered back to the spiritual planr to be reborn free of agony or… censure.” Conceptio gave her a pointed look. “Even those goblins who would otherwise be writhing in the pitchforks of deities of vengeance the likes of which neither you nor your master… forgive me, father, can conceive. Those revenants will also be granted clemency in honor of their service to you, soul contracts bound and honored, however brief their tenure was.”

Lilly’s ears perked up with relief. She was surprised by how much better that made her feel. “Yes, okay, that sounds pretty sweet...and fair. More than fair. But um… that means I’d kind of have to give up my necromancer profession for, like, ever. Right?”

Conceptio nodded. “It certainly would if you’re at all eager for a pristine ascension all the way to the depths of Silver, avoiding countless pitfalls that those lacking the blessings of the System itself are bound to endure.”

Lilly’s eyes bulged. “Wait… wait, wait, wait! You mean all that core condensing and jumping through constant hoops and a dozen requirements that our future galactic rivals won’t even let us learn about, let alone prepare for… all that shit preventing us from even ascending to Bronze without bricking our build let alone becoming a World-Conquering Silver… I’ll be able to just avoid all those painful lines and slip right into the VIP lounge? The express lane right to Silver?”

Conceptio chuckled, eyes twinkling with good-natured humor. “I can’t tell you how refreshing it is to meet a potential disciple free of the fear and hesitancy that the very, very few who could dream of earning this privilege are too often inflicted with.”

Lilly laughed, she couldn’t help it, even if she thought that maybe Conceptio was giving her a very gentle hint that maybe she should be a bit more reverent and demure herself.

“Considering that I was a dead little spirit screaming her final memories of being brutalized by a group of orcs before being resurrected into a bunny, then racing like mad and dodging death while jumping over hurtles and pitfalls where one mistake would equal a lava bit like a very bad Maria-Girls game… AND I had to power level my ass and somehow pull a rabbit right out of that same ass in order to save my mother and brother before they too became trapped souls in goblin hell… yeah. Honestly, not too much can phase me at this point. If the System finds me worthy, this girl won’t say no. No matter how many cool silvery spools that make my dad crap his pants you end up twisting into my brain. Because when I was a bunny pulling free bones by desperation and Body Sculpting arts, I had very very little brains at all! And somehow, I was still me.”

She gave him a pointed look. “And somehow, I think I’ll still be me, even if you do improoove me. Just a bit.” She held up her two fingers a centimeter apart. “Seeing as I’m already so close to perfection with these kick-ass mad-lad magical ears. Ha!”

Conceptio nodded his head, eyes twinkling with grandfatherly warmth. “Indeed. Are you ready, Lillian Silver?”

Lilly froze, devil-may-care smile turning to a wince. “So, um… there’s absolutely no way I can keep all my revies?”

Conceptio sighed, giving her a pointed look. “Is there, perhaps, another question you want to ask me?”

Lilly froze. Momentarily terrified that she had offended her would-be mentor and maker, before holding on to a wild flash of hope. “Wait… wait wait wait you mean… you mean… like a profession?” She licked her lips. The sage-like ageless cultivator’s benign expression could hardly be considered an encouraging nod… but still!

“Since I no longer have a necromancer profession… are there any professions I can take while taking my… Champion class? Like, that also won’t limit my ability to ascend to deliciously absurd heights of power?”

Conceptio held her gaze for long moments. “Thousands, Lilly Silver.”

Lilly flushed, somehow certain she was playing the idiot, still, and not knowing why before she suddenly got it!

“I know!” She positively gushed, before clearing her throat, primly adjusting non-existent skirts that were suddenly existing, and trying again. “I mean… are there any classes that, while not technically necromancy, still allow me to control large numbers of…”

“Speaker For The Fallen,” Conceptio said before she had even finished.

“It’s a Legendary Profession that allows the righteous hero to bring voice to any soul who’s life was unfairly cut short by one or more tormentors, so that retribution may be extracted. Of course, it is those tormentors alone that will be forced to pay the burden of said cost. Yet it’s also true that as a Speaker ascends the ranks, the specific may become the general.”

Lilly stared at Conceptio for long moments. “So, any one of the souls who was tormented by, say, the goblins who inhabit this world…”

“Will be eager, more than eager, to march under your banner in order to put a stop to the Goblinoid incursion upon this planet, before embracing the sleep of oblivion, and rebirth, once more.”

Lilly’s eyes widened. “Maximum number of spirits…”

“None.”

“Fucking Hell.”

Conceptio winked. “There is a catch.”

“Of course there is.”

“Your cause must be righteous. No spirits will avenge predators devouring prey as per life’s cycle, not unless the kill was wanton and without purpose or meaning. You won’t find yourself able to sweep a territory clear of monsters simply being monsters absorbing the rich floods of mana and potency erupting from your ascending world’s core.”

“But if I’m not on Earth… if I’m instead on Greystone, a world chock full of goblins who enjoy profiting off the slavery and torment of thousands…”

Conceptio steepled his fingers once more. “I take it this is an acceptable profession?”

“Fuck-ye – I mean, yes, revered System avatar. I would be extremely grateful to receive your blessings and claim both System Hero and Speaker for the… oh shit, those really are silvery tendrils coming out of your fingers.”

Conceptio’s benign smile turned to a puzzled stare. “For a girl so sangfroid moments ago… you’re trying awfully hard to claw your way out of a door that’s no longer there.”

“That’s before I realized you were actually going to slip literal silvery tentacles into my ear hole--- AHH!”

“Stop it. You know it doesn’t hurt a bit.”

“There are magical worms drilling into my brain!”

“Only in the best possible way, Lillian, I assure you.”