At last, some proper guidance befitting a cultivator protagonist! Myrkas could not help the wide smile bisecting his youthful face. His cheeks were round and red with happiness. If a kind grandma had been around, she would not have been able to resist taking a bite of those apple cheeks. The new letters shimmered in front of Myrkas, their gold and orange glow melding with the afternoon light. Their glimmer evoked the untold possibilities the artifact hid, waiting to be uncovered. Without further ado, Myrkas read on.

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Available focus for Assessed [Myrkas Hakhmir]

Suggested, in order of priority

Spiritual skills:

* Qi sense (Beginner)

* Meditation (Novice)

* Internal Qi manipulation (Beginner)

* External Qi manipulation (Beginner)

* Dantian Gate opening (Beginner)

Martial Skills:

* Unarmed combat

* -General (Intermediate)

* -Other styles (Novice)

↳ Expand?

* Evasion (Novice)

* Acrobatics (Beginner)

* Body Meditation (Beginner)

Available, however, not immediately recommended for Assessed [Myrkas Hahkmir]

Crafting skills:

* Basics of Alchemy (Beginner)

* Beast Medicine (Beginner)

* Thread spinning (Beginner)

Social skills:

* Beast communion (Beginner)

* Intimidation (Beginner)

* Unreadable face (Beginner)

* Torture Basics (Beginner)

Artistic skills:

* None unlocked

Strengthening spiritual roots: Looked, prerequisites missing

Bloodline progression: Not available

Constitution formation: Locked, prerequisites missing

Meridians formation: Locked, need to open a minimum of one (1) near dantian gate to access.

All other functions currently locked for Assessed [Myrkas Hakhmir].

End of Guiding Assessment

Please indicate choice of focus for additional guidance

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So many choices!

It was a great start. Even better than Myrkas had dared hope for. So many disciplines were covered, at least at basic levels. A tremendous boon! Unbelievably so. His uncle must have sacrificed his future firstborn, and the second, and the third, to a Supreme Devil from the seventh Hell to acquire such an artifact, and keep it secret. Actually, that would explain why Koriss Hakhmir had never taken a wife before. Myrkas could inquire, although, it seemed safer not to know too much. In case the boy found himself mysteriously included in whatever repayment was expected. A last heir sounded conveniently interchangeable with firstborn when devils were concerned. Or potentially demonic cultivators.

Myrkas squashed his rising worry before it overwhelmed him. He was getting anxious about unfounded conjectures. His uncle was a nice, respectable man, not someone who made deals with evil entities for unfathomable power. There had to be a good explanation for Koriss possessing such an artifact and keeping it secret. One excluding any nefarious exchange. Again, Myrkas could ask, but the boy preferred not to. People were allowed to have secrets. It was not because Myrkas wished to avoid any further awkward conversations with his uncle. Of course not,

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The different options presented made sense, thankfully. The Assessor had obviously taken Myrkas' progression and aptitudes when making its list of suggestions. However, one option made a stark contrast next to all the others. Its mere presence presented a great puzzle.

What did I do to get "Torture Basics" as an option?

A true mystery. It made the boy put into question every single act he had done—well, those he remembered—in both of his lives. Was he a secretly budding psychopath? Myrkas quickly looked at his surrounding menagerie. Relief grew within him when no hidden impulse to hurt his furry friends was revealed. He did not think aggressive cuddles counted as torture. And with the amount of brushing their fur required, Myrkas would think he was the one doomed to repeated forced labour more than any other living on the estate.

Nope, the reason was elsewhere. It quite bothered him. Myrkas could not progress further without finding a reasonable explanation as to why the Assessor had deemed him fit to walk on the path of an expert torturer. It made no logical sense. He had never wished to hurt anyone, and the princeling did not count. Myrkas might direct his envy towards the over-privileged original protagonist, but he did not actually wish him any harm whatsoever. Myrkas was very happy for the both of them to live in parallel, without ever influencing the other. Nope, Myrkas' completely benign defence mechanism of finding fault with a rich stranger was not the reason for his newly found potential as an apprentice torturer.

The only person he may have wished some harm to did not count. Eight-year-old little girls were notoriously annoying. They deserved to be tickled to breathlessness. Especially when they kept interrupting Myrkas when he tried to read, write, train, or, really, do anything remotely productive.

Myrkas' acts were justified. Tickling someone who deserved it did not count as torture, even if the other person may have peed themselves a little and cried afterward. All of it would have never happened if Martine had just left him alone when Myrkas did not have time to play with her. He was busy. Gaining power required time and discipline, and distracting children had to learn their lesson, notwithstanding whatever Nirsa said.

Myrkas was convinced Marta, the girl's mother, would agree with him if he ever told her. Not that he planned to, as the matronly lady may forbid Martine from ever playing with him again. Apparently, servants and Young Masters weren't supposed to chase each other around or climb trees together. Marta could be too strict. It was better to keep Martine's playful excesses and his retaliatory ticklings to themselves.

Myrkas refused to agree with the Assessor. Having some malicious glee while causing some mild discomfort to someone who clearly deserved it did not mark one as a potential torturer. He was not a sadist and that was that.

Myrkas reminded himself that, despite their dry delivery, advanced Assessors were known to oftentimes develop quirks and personalities reminiscent of their creator. Maybe this one liked to make bad jokes aimed at putting the Assessed in a never-ending loop of self-doubt. Something to temper their Dao Heart and knowledge of themselves. To test their Path. Who knew?

Anyway, mystery solved. It was time to choose a focus. While most options had definite benefits and attractive features, only one was consistent with Myrkas' current plans. It was the one skill he had courageously risked his life for the day before. The one key to unlock a myriad of paths. The one way to truly feel like a cultivator: the ability to sense Qi. To accurately perceive the mystical energy empowering the world to magical heights. Like being able to sense and/or see electromagnetic forces; if Myrkas compared it to the good old atomic theory of the "modern universe."

Qi-sense would help with everything. His meditation would improve if he could witness the Qi entering him. Alchemy and soap-making—yes, it counted—would become easy if Myrkas knew what contained Qi or not, how much, and what type. How could Myrkas ever improve if Qi stayed invisible and intangible to his senses, physical and metaphysical ones included—whatever those last ones were?

In addition, the Assessor had put Qi-sensing as its top-most suggestion. A sure sign of its importance on the journey of Qi-Cultivation.

It made the choice beyond easy. Myrkas' next step to build a solid foundation could not have been any more clear. As if life had installed a few giant neon arrow signs with a helpful "turn here to progress" on the boy's path to power. If only all of life's choices could be identified with so little ambiguity.

With resolve and excitement mixing in his abdomen, Myrkas loudly announced his preference.

"Focus chosen: Qi sensing"

Thankfully, no complex shenanigans were required by the Assessor to confirm this selection. The shining letters immediately responded to Myrkas' voice.

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[Acknowledged. Initiating Qi sensing guide, Beginner stage.]

Methods available to unlock General Qi-sense—recommended over specific Qi-senses for Assessed [Myrkas Hakhmir]

* Qi-Leeches sensitization

* Meditation in a high Qi environment

* Noxious Qi exposure

* Foreign Qi wound

* Physical sensory deprivation

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A little barebone in terms of assistance, but welcomed nonetheless. Although, further details would have been appreciated. The basic statements did not provide much practical information for a beginning cultivator. They implied some preceding knowledge of Qi-Cultivation's general concepts. While the meaning was somewhat intuitive, Myrkas would have liked a nice set of clear definitions. This world obviously lacked in the area of random lawsuits to allow for suck laxness. They expected people to know the contents could be hot without the appropriate warning. As if common sense abounded!