"Well, that's decent for an ordinary Tier 0 with normal stats, but for somebody with your foundation, it’s not much," Rowan remarked, scratching his cheek. “But it’s enough to secure you a couple of stat upgrades at your current stage.”

Rowan explained to Alaric how cultivators could use experience points to level up their stats. Basically, experience points could be spent to level up any of your attributes such as strength, mind, and so on.

However, the higher your stat is in any attribute, the more experience points it would demand to advance further.

The system even offered an option to auto-allocate the experience points based on a cultivator’s preferences. Hmm…that makes sense. The stronger you become, the harder it is to push forward in your cultivation journey.

The Titles granted by the system were equally interesting. These were awarded by the system when a cultivator accomplished a significant feat, such as clearing a dungeon solo or defeating a monster above their tier.

There were countless types of titles available, and depending on their rarity, each title offered varying levels of benefits.

Apparently, only geniuses and prodigies earned titles, which further amplified their strength. An average cultivator might not even receive a single title in their lifetime. That was an intriguing insight.

Alaric casually inquired about the rarity levels of titles, but Rowan lacked detailed knowledge since most people preferred to keep their titles confidential. However, one thing was clear — Unique and Signature Titles were exceedingly rare.

Alaric decided to invest his accumulated experience points into his strength and agility attributes for now. It made no sense to delay such an accessible power boost.

Experience points used.

Alaric felt a rush of warmth spread through his muscles. The euphoric sensation lasted only for a moment but left him with a lingering satisfaction. A smile spread across his face as he checked his status screen.

Name - Alaric De Vermond.

Age - 12

Stats:

Strength - 18 -> 20

Agility - 19 -> 20

Vitality - 16

Mind - 23

Soul - 29

Titles:

* Ally of the System (Signature)

* Progenitor of Chakra Cultivation (Unique)

Chakra Cultivation Progression:

* Muladhara (Root Chakra): Purified (Partially Awakened)

* Swadhisthana (Sacral Chakra): Purified (Dormant)

* Manipura (Solar Plexus Chakra): Purified (Dormant)

* Anahata (Heart Chakra): Purified (Dormant)

* Visuddha (Throat Chakra): Purified (Dormant)

* Ajna (Third Eye Chakra): Purified (Dormant)

* Sahasrara (Crown Chakra): Purified (Dormant)

Unused Experience Points: 0

System Rewards Granted:

* Cultivation Sanctuary

Overall, Alaric was quite satisfied. His next objective was to explore his cultivation sanctuary later that night and assess the advantages it might offer.

“Let me know when you get the Tutorial invite from the system,” Rowan said.

“What Tutorial invite?” Alaric questioned, puzzled.

“The invite to the Tutorial Rift,” Rowan gestured casually. “It’s where Tier 0s are supposed to acquire their mana skills and practice them. It usually takes about a week before the system sends you the invitation.”

That was new information to Alaric. None of the books he had read mentioned anything about such a feature.

Then again, most of those books weren’t particularly practical — they were encyclopedias cataloging skills and their combinations. Reading them felt like sifting through a dictionary, so he had mostly avoided them.

“Oh..is that it?”

Rowan patted his back. “Yes, don’t worry. I will explain everything to you later. Knowing you, getting your mana skills will be a breeze.”

With that said Rowan tossed a wooden sword at Alaric. It was time to begin their sword training session — or so it seemed. Alaric shook his head and handed the sword back to Rowan.

“What’s wrong? You feeling okay?” Rowan asked, concern flashing across his face. After all, Alaric rarely backed down from a challenge.

“I’m getting tired of swords,” Alaric smirked and assumed a battle stance with his bare fists. “Let’s see if you can wield your limbs as well as your sword?”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Rowan threw his sword to the ground and took his own fighting stance. “I’ll wipe the ground with your ass,” Rowan smirked. The next moment, the two friends launched themselves and struck each other in the face. And, thus began their first bare-fist spar.

***

Alaric and his friends were currently in his room celebrating his 12th birthday. That meant munching on fruit custard tarts, roasted boar, and honeyed sweet rolls. However, the best part of the feast was something Elara kept as a surprise.

“I wonder what is the special preparation for your birthday,” Gareth mused in between stuffing his mouth with the honeyed sweet rolls.

“Finish what you have on your plate first,” George remarked while smiling.

“Hey, you know I like to eat...” Gareth grumbled, “I just like to eat slowly, unlike you.” He scrunched his face at George. The larger guy shrugged it off without concern.

Rowan and Alaric were savoring their meal without making much fuss. However, Alaric couldn’t wait to see the reaction on their faces when Elara unveiled the final dish. He firmly believed that Elara wouldn’t let him down on his birthday.

And, speaking of the angel, she swept into the room carrying trays laden with food. An unusual gamey smell permeated the air, coupled with a hint of roasted spices. Gareth practically salivated, and Alaric felt his stomach growl.

“Kids, these are courtesy of the lord... take your time,” Elara announced proudly. Somehow, she had managed to secure permission from the count to prepare these dishes.

Perhaps these required some rare ingredients.

As she lifted the tray covering the food, all four of them had their eyes hooked on the two very special dishes laid before them.

“What are these?” Rowan blurted out. Alaric examined the dishes. One tray showcased large pieces of meat ribs, but they didn’t resemble boar or lamb. These are something entirely different. The other tray contained four bowls of stew with a mix of meat chunks and veggies.

“These...” Elara gestured to the exotic meat ribs, “are Fire Drake Ribs. The other one is Thunder-beast stew.”

“No way…” Gareth murmured, his excitement palpable. Even Rowan and George had a look of delight etched on their faces. And, that was understandable considering exotic beast meats were so expensive.

Hunting exotic beasts required preparation to avoid accidentally damaging their bodies too much. And, elemental spells couldn’t be used for fear of ruining the meat and its flavor. On top of that, only first-class cooks could make dishes with exotic meats.

It seems like this is a gift from my Father. Well, Elara and Father both. Alaric smiled.

“Thank you so much.” Alaric dipped his head at Elara, expressing his gratitude. All of his friends followed suit.

“Be sure to thank the lord as well. Now dig in before they get cold,” Elara winked and departed, leaving the kids to relish their special feast.

All of them eagerly sampled the Fire Drake ribs. As Alaric sank his teeth into the meat, it easily slid off the bone. A smoky, spicy, and fiery flavor erupted in his mouth, and he savored every moment of it.

The Thunder-beast stew delivered an electrifying tang mixed with a sweet and sour flavor. The meat chunks were soft and delicious, releasing a flavorful taste with bite.

“In all the years of being your friend, I finally feel like it was worth it,” Rowan quipped while shooting a sly glance at Alaric. Alaric playfully smacked him on the shoulder.

“Alaric, you are inviting us to your birthday next year too, right?” George leaned in closer to him. “Right?”

Alaric simply chuckled. “Of course, I will.” He pretended to think for a moment. “If I don’t accidentally die fighting a wild beast.”

All of them burst into laughter. The next few hours passed in a blur of laughter, stories, and lighthearted jokes.

***

After the end of the birthday party, Alaric settled himself in the lotus position on his bed and shut his eyes. It was time to access his cultivation sanctuary.

Would you like to enter your cultivation sanctuary?

Alaric mentally approved. Suddenly, he perceived his body descending into the ground, endlessly. He didn’t open his eyes, only concentrating on the sensation of sinking. It was starting to get nauseating but thankfully, the sensation diminished after a while.

A bright light flooded his vision and he discovered himself standing on a green field. He blinked a few times to adjust his eyes to the brightness of the light.

He examined his surroundings and what he observed stole his breath away. At first glance, he discerned six islands drifting above white clouds in his vision, far up to the horizon. He was standing on the seventh floating sky island.

A radiant sun hung in the sky, providing illumination in this pocket dimension. The air was fresh and thick with mana, and breathing felt significantly easier. He couldn’t detect any noise - animal sounds or birds chirping - except for the faint rustle of leaves. The whole scene made him feel serene.

This is…more than I expected. Alaric had assumed that his cultivation sanctuary would be more like a room or a cave filled with enriched mana, not a collection of floating sky islands.

He felt a smile spread across his cheek. This is appropriate.

Turning around, he noticed ancient-looking pagodas in each of the sky islands. Once he inspected them more closely, he recognized that each of the pagodas was colored in the hues of the different chakras.

Hmm, I wonder if each of the sky islands and pagodas represents a different chakra? The description stated that the cultivation sanctuary would be uniquely suited for my cultivation method, after all.

The island he was standing on currently featured a red pagoda. So, it was likely that it was associated with the root chakra. As Alaric approached the pagoda, he instantly experienced a change in his body weight.

His body felt significantly lighter. What’s this? Before he could regulate his pace, his body floated up into the air in the direction he was heading.

“Woo-hoo” he exclaimed as he experienced a thrill of adrenaline coursing through his body. It seems I can directly access my subtle body in this pocket dimension. That’s excellent!

Alaric theorized that when he accessed his personal cultivation sanctuary, everybody in the real world would simply perceive him meditating as he usually did. However, inwardly, his subtle body would transition into this pocket dimension.

This was truly a marvelous gift by the System. He couldn’t fathom its value. A meticulous weaving of space, matter, and time Daos along with tremendous skill and experience. Perhaps some other forms of energy and artifacts.

Whatever it was, Alaric was deeply grateful.

He quickly adapted to navigating this inner world with his subtle body. After all, he was experienced in ‘Astral Travel’ and ‘Dream Manipulation’ as well.

Memories of him training in his ‘Lucid Inner World’ resurfaced in his mind. Alaric chuckled. Now that he finally had access to mana, he couldn’t wait to revisit his lucid inner world.

It took him only a few seconds to reach the Root Chakra Pagoda. He observed that the gate was locked with a seal. A handprint was engraved below the seal. Alaric aligned the handprint with his right hand and sensed a faint pulse of mana probing his Prana.

The next moment, the mana retracted and the seal glowed crimson. The doors to the Root Chakra Pagoda gradually parted.