Alaric was back in his bedroom with his notebook open. He scanned through the short-term goals, medium-term goals, and long-term goal sections that he had written in it.

Short-term Goals:

* Form a liquid mana core

* Acquire at least 10 mana skills

* Delve the advanced zones of the Tutorial Rift and level up all mana skills

* Gain the [Advanced Mana Manipulation] ability (Possibility 1)

Medium-term Goals:

* Reforge all 5 aspects of the body

* Forge a solid mana core

* Evolve and merge all the mana skills to gain the [Superior Mana Manipulation] ability (possibility 2)

Long-Term Goals:

* Reforge the mind and soul

* Awaken all the chakras of his subtle body

* Participate in the Tower of Trials (awaiting system invite) and climb to the highest levels

Of course, this list of goals was not all-inclusive and subject to change. He would add new goals to the list when and if suitable.

I wonder what Rowan would think when he learns I’m aiming for the [Superior Mana Manipulation] ability? In Gaia, there were many ways to progress through your cultivation journey depending on your goals, talents, and resources.

Most cultivators that didn’t aspire to participate in the ‘Tower of Trials’ opted to diversify their skills at Tier 1 by acquiring physical enhancement skills along with a few more mana skills.

Although they ventured into the mid zones of the Tutorial Rift to level up their mana skills, delving into the higher zones was not a priority. Of course, completing the higher stages of the Tutorial Rift was a challenge in itself.

And, they needed to acquire more mana skills first. Not many were able to acquire more than 5 mana skills or level them up by completing the higher stages.

Moreover, acquiring more mana skills vs diversifying their skill set presented a risk-reward type dilemma since the skill slots were limited. At Tier 1, cultivators were limited to 12 skill slots.

Mana skills were foundational for progressing through the tiers and reaching the highest power levels. However, if a cultivator had no hope of reaching the highest tiers or was less talented, it was better to limit the number of mana skills at first and focus on learning physical enhancement skills.

If they managed to advance to the later tiers, they could always attempt to gain more mana skills.

Cultivators who aimed for the upper floors of the Tower of Trials had to establish an excellent foundation. Thus, they pursued the [Advanced Mana Manipulation] ability. Unfortunately, less than 10 percent of people attained success and many sabotaged their future prospects because they overestimated their talents.

To acquire the [Advanced Mana Manipulation], a cultivator needed to merge 10 mana skills (the 3 foundational + 7 additional skills). Each skill occupied an additional skill slot and if they were unable to acquire or master 10 mana skills, they couldn’t develop the [Advanced Mana Manipulation] ability.

Thus, either their skill slots were permanently locked if they abandoned the effort or they squandered many years learning and mastering all the 10 mana skills.

To attain the [Superior Mana Manipulation] ability, a cultivator had to evolve all 10 mana skills into their advanced forms and then integrate them. Thus, they had to dissolve the basic [Mana Manipulation] ability and reclaim the 3 foundational skills aside from acquiring additional 7 mana skills.

This was an immensely risky gamble and almost nobody without a superior bloodline, talent, and immense resources aimed for this rare ability.

The system didn’t assist cultivators in evolving their skills. The Tutorial Rift was designed by the system to enable cultivators to obtain the three foundational mana skills and hone their basic mana skills.

A cultivator needed exceptional talent to evolve any type of skill further. That, in itself, was a major hurdle. However, the issue was much more complex. It was the easiest to evolve the [Mana Sense] skill.

Now, if a cultivator managed to evolve only this single skill, the other 9 slots remained wasted with no path back to basic or [Advanced Mana Manipulation] ability. This is because once one evolved a skill to a higher rank, there was no way to revert it.

On the flip side, if a cultivator fell just short of evolving only 1 of the 10 mana skills they had acquired, they would still be stuck since they needed to fuse 10 advanced skills to create the [Superior Mana Manipulation].

However, if Alaric succeeded in evolving all 10 mana skills and obtained this rare ability, he would wield unparalleled control over mana.

Alaric closed his notebook. It was time to sleep and allow his body to recover from all the stress he had subjected it to today.

Tomorrow, he resolved to dive into the next stage of the Tutorial Rift - The Azure Caverns. With that thought in mind, he headed to his bed.

***

Welcome to The Azure Caverns.

Alaric was back inside the Tutorial Rift but this time in the second zone. Once a cultivator completed mastering the three foundational skills back in the previous zone - The Mana Grove, the system stopped holding their hands.

Thus, unlike in the previous zone, the system wouldn’t reward cultivators with any mana skills for completing objectives from this zone onward. However, it would still provide them opportunities to learn new mana skills on their own when exploring the region.

And, the challenges presented in each zone would allow them to level up the mana skills they had acquired.

Alaric didn’t venture into this zone completely unprepared like the last time. He consulted with his friends to understand what to anticipate inside the higher zones. Typically, the challenges encountered inside the higher zones would be customized by the system based on some unknown factor.

However, the type of possible challenges a cultivator had to tackle inside these higher zones was documented - at least for the earlier zones.

Generally, it was a good strategy to practice the type of mana skill you intended to acquire so that you had a goal to concentrate on when delving into the higher zones.

Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

The system - uncannily - recognized what type of mana exercises a cultivator was practicing and designed the challenges based on that. Thus, it also boosted your chances of acquiring the specific mana skill when exploring the Tutorial Rift.

Master Vellan had gifted Alaric with a book that cataloged the most common mana skills that could be attained in the higher stages of the Tutorial Rift. Alaric hoped to gain two specific skills in the Azure Caverns - Mana Solidification and Vital Mana Flow.

He had been practicing a few mana exercises the past days specifically to acquire these two mana skills.

He focused on his surroundings. As the name suggested, the Azure Caverns were a network of dark underground caves, illuminated by bioluminescent crystals that emitted a bright blue glow. The mana in the region was denser than the Mana Grove and crystals of all shapes and sizes adorned the cave walls.

Alaric advanced toward an opening in the distance that caught his eye. The presence of a blue shimmer drew his attention.

Hmm…that looks interesting. I should probably head there but first… Alaric stopped just short of crossing the opening. His gut was telling him that a new challenge would pop up once he crossed the threshold.

So, he aimed to prepare for any oncoming test. He clenched a fist and invoked his [Mana Manipulation] ability to draw the ambient mana around it.

It wasn’t challenging at all to absorb the dense mana in the region and envelop his fist with it. He had practiced it a few times and felt it was easier in this region.

Alaric exerted his willpower to its limits to compress the mana as much as possible, and after a while, a thin layer of solidified mana coated his arms.

Congratulations! You have learned the skill [Mana Solidification] (Common).

[Mana Solidification lvl 1]

A grin spread across his face. Alaric concentrated on the skill to summon its description into view.

Mana Solidification - You can solidify mana to make it denser and more potent. Higher skill levels enable more condensed, stable mana, which can be utilized in crafting, spell potency, or direct reinforcement.

The skill he attained - Mana Solidification - was one of the most versatile skills a cultivator could wield in their arsenal.

However, it could also seem a little misleading. Many amateur cultivators assumed they had to master this skill first to make the leap from a liquid mana core to forging a solid mana core. However, that was a complete misconception.

The process of forging a mana core and enhancing it only demanded the ability to manipulate mana, strong willpower, and a specific cultivation technique.

Thus, the higher a cultivator’s [Mana Manipulation] was leveled up and the stronger their willpower, the better and denser they could forge their mana core. Of course, one required a refined cultivation technique to progress through the various stages of forging the mana core as well.

Many mana cultivation techniques were common knowledge, often found in books. These were sufficient for beginners.

However, if one desired to learn advanced mana cultivation techniques, they either had to join a powerful sect or become the disciple of a master. Of course, nobles possessed special cultivation techniques tailored to their bloodlines.

Alaric adhered to Chakra cultivation. He dismissed the basic cultivation technique taught by Master Vellan and the one offered by his father - the count. Of course, Alaric hadn’t informed them of his choice.

He shook his head to stop his chain of thoughts. The fundamental point to grasp was that a mana core was not a physical object; it resided in the subtle body. The [Mana Solidification] skill enabled cultivators to crystallize or solidify mana in the physical world. It couldn’t be used to forge a mana core.

This skill was primarily the most popular among craftsmen and healers who employed mana tools forged with this skill for superior results. However, with the proper skill and creativity, it could also be utilized to craft a variety of armaments made of mana, which could amplify combat ability tremendously.

I wonder how long it would take an amateur to learn this skill. For Alaric, it wasn’t difficult to learn this skill at all. In his previous life, he had wielded a similar skill during his novice years.

However, he speculated, that perhaps his title - Ally of the System - also contributed to him being able to master skills quickly. He couldn’t definitively confirm it. There was no way to deactivate the effects of a title.

With the [Mana Solidification] skill acquired, Alaric stepped into the opening, which revealed itself to be a vast cavern. The familiar system beep immediately rang inside his mind.

Challenge 1 - Defeat the Azure Golem Spawnling.

One of the larger crystals embedded in the wall of the cave quaked and extracted itself with a groan, reshaping into a humanoid form. The crystalline golem stood at a similar height to Alaric and didn’t appear that menacing compared to the stone golems he had encountered before.

However, he knew better than to underestimate an enemy or monster.

The azure golem spawnling noticed him and advanced with shuffling steps. Alaric scanned the area for another exit. He identified none.

So, I have to defeat this golem to explore the rest of the cavern. He clasped his fist encased in a layer of thin, crystallized mana with his other hand and grinned. Fine by me!

Instead of waiting for the abysmally slow golem to reach him, Alaric rushed at the creature ready to strike it. The golem swung at him, but Alaric deftly sidestepped. He slipped inside the golem's guard and drove his fist into its chest.

Just as he anticipated, the thin layer of crystallized mana encasing his fist flaked off upon impact with the golem’s body, and his arm throbbed in pain.

The golem, on the other hand, only staggered a single step.

Alaric rubbed his fists and reformed the layer of solidified mana around his fist using the [Mana Solidication] skill. The process was noticeably faster now, thanks to the skill. Every time he struck the golem, he had to regenerate the layer of solidified mana.

It hurt his arms but Alaric didn’t give up. Slowly, he chipped away flakes of crystallized mana from the golem’s body as well. However, Alaric was running out of patience.

This isn’t working. I have to change my strategy.

Alaric attempted to create multiple layers of crystallized mana over his fist. Even with the skill’s assistance, it was a slow process. Meanwhile, the golem trudged toward him, preparing to strike.

Fortunately, he was faster than the golem, and evading it was not difficult at all.

The crystallized mana enveloping his arms had become denser, but Alaric remained unsatisfied. He concentrated on forming sharp spikes around his knuckles. It required greater precision, but he succeeded.

Alaric registered a series of beeps in his mind but ignored them for now. He approached the golem, planted his feet firmly, and unleashed a devastating uppercut below its supposed chin.

His arms reverberated from the impact, and shards of broken crystallized mana lacerated his arms deeply. Pain radiated through his limbs as blood trickled down in rivulets.

However, Alaric was content. The golem’s head snapped back from the sheer force, with a massive chunk of it obliterated. Although Alaric wasn’t entirely immune to physical pain at this stage, his purified sacral chakra helped temper his emotions quite a bit.

Fortunately, these golem spawnlings lacked the regenerative abilities of the stone golems. The creature’s form was reduced to a grotesque shape, with large portions of its body carved away, yet it still attempted to move

Alaric formed another spiked mana gauntlet and delivered a decisive blow to the golem’s head, dislodging it from its body and ending its life. The severed head soared through the air, smashed into the far wall, and shattered.

Alaric plopped to the ground, gasping for air.

Congratulations! You have completed the basic challenge.

He dismissed the system notification and reviewed his gains from the battle.

Ding! Your skill [Mana Solidification] has leveled up. [Mana Solidification lvl 1 -> Mana Solidification lvl 2]

Ding! Your skill [Mana Solidification] has leveled up. [Mana Solidification lvl 2 -> Mana Solidification lvl 3]

Ding! Your ability [Mana Manipulation] has leveled up. [Mana Manipulation lvl 2 -> Mana Manipulation lvl 3]

A smile spread across his cheek. Now we’re talking!

He examined his arms, now embedded with multiple shards of mana crystals. Alaric cycled his heart chakra and focused on the vibrant green subtle energy pulsing within it.

Let’s see if I can obtain my second skill in the zone.