Still running, Sullas did not stop until hours later, his breath ragged, his clothes and leather armor soaked in cold sweats.
'I...I think I made it...' Looking around nervously, he was situated deeper inside the dungeon, standing in a narrow, dark tunnel.
Collapsing, he caught himself to the nearby walls, his back pressing against it.
*Click*
*Rumble !*
Startled, he tried to jump in front, but failed to do so in time, his figure falling on his back as the wall behind started to open, sliding into the ground below.
'W-What is this ?' Recovering, he turned around, staring with panic to the surrounding space. Now back on his feet, he entered the secret rocky room by himself.
*Bam !*
Turning around in an instant, he saw the doorway locked again, the rocky surface now present.
'Is this a trap ? Shit ! What do I do ? Do I move ? Do I play dead ?' Laying on the ground, Sullas played dead, his body limped, his breath almost inaudible even within the deathly silence of the room.
An hour later, Sullas opened his eyes again, now feeling better, as he was still alive.
Examining the room, he noticed its simplicity, nothing special, another cave among a myriad of others. But something caught his eye further in.
At the center of the room, a small pedestal-like rock was blending with the surroundings.
'Is this ?' Approaching it, Sullas dusted the old piece of rock, barely reaching his knees. On it, he read.
Welcome, chosen one ! If you managed to find these words, then your luck must have been useless, fate itself doing all the work !
Behind this stone, on the wall, you may find engraved words explaining everything, if you do not find them, then just brush the dust off.
Hesitating for a moment, Sullas started to walk ahead, toward the wall in front.
'Human language... I wonder what's written on it...' His curiosity controlling his every move, Sullas started to clean the wall, recovering the engraved words.
If you wish to chase the clouds, crush the sky and gain freedom, then kowtow on the ground ten times, saying :
I, name, wishes to become Master Vaxus' disciple, inheriting his legacy, dreams and enemies !
Frowning, Sullas was not sure how to proceed, unaware if the humiliation would be worth the effort, but he suddenly remembered that not only was this place secluded, but he did not even have any pride left to begin with !
On his knees, Sullas started to kowtow on the rocky surface, his forehand banging on it, blood oozing out.
"I, Sullas, wishes to become Master Vaxus' disciple, inheriting his legacy, dreams and enemies !"
Blood splattered all over, Sullas' vision started to blur, his mind hazy.
'Maybe smashing my head like this ten times was overkill...' Shaking his head in denial, he looked ahead with anticipation, and sure enough...
*Rumble !*
The wall started to crumble, another wall taking its place.
Congratulations on becoming this king's disciple ! I must tell you in advance however, that you will not leave this place for a very, very long time.
But do not fret, as there are countless resources for you to not only survive, but also get stronger.
The only way to leave this place is to master my teachings, methods and reach a satisfactory result !
Below is my cultivation technique, martial arts and some more miscellaneous information will be accessible in another adjacent room.
Reading further down, Sullas was puzzled by the strange sentences.
[Mana Cultivation Technique : Forging the path from below]
Mana orbit the world
Mana invade the world
Mana enhance the world
Mana circulate the world
A pulled orbit to become the foundation
A trapped energy to surpass the limits
A controlled energy to soar
A ruled energy a path towards immortality
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Unwilling to appear
Unwilling to stop
Unwilling to help
Unwilling to submit
Inferior it is
Inferior we are
Inferior it can be
Inferior it won't be
'What in the world is this ?' Perplexed, he looked around, as doors started to appear, for him to explore.
Walking to his left, he entered one of the many rooms.
Inside, a giant space filled with gigantic containers, within, small brown pills, shining an orange luster.
Reading the labels, he understood them to be rations.
Exiting, he went to another stone room, this time finding an empty, wide space.
'This is the training area...'
Now going to the right rooms, he found the first to be a small space, a dusty cushion in the middle.
As for the last one, a place filled with varied engraved teachings and drawings.
-----
Done playing around, Sullas was now healed, the rations a sustainable way to live.
'There are so many of them, and they all possess water inside as well, as for quality of life, there are many things just dedicated to that alone. Toilet, bath, bed and more. Master truly is a sensible one.' Glorifying Vaxus and his gifts, Sullas was currently holding one.
Opening a palm sized grey box, he found a black ring inside. Raising a brow, he read the engravings within.
This item is called a space ring, but while I wished for it to be on par with others, Mana was simply not good enough, my understanding of the Space Dao a true helping hand in its creation. Wear it on your favorite finger, trust me, that finger may be worth more than your 'life' one day. So don't lose it.
As for its use, either appraise it, or experiment with it, just know that Mana is necessary.
Many things to do, Sullas simply appraised the item, not bothering with complicated options, especially with how much he had already planned.
Name : Space Ring Age : 9 114 Rarity : Mythical Worth : ??? Durability : 1 000 000 / 1 000 000 Skill : [Inventory] (Space of 100 cubic meters)
Description : A simple black ring forged from Black Iron, the Dao of Space has been imbeded masterfully inside, gifting it the power of [Inventory], it can hold many wonderful things that can be removed at will.
Instruction : Injecting Mana inside will give the user the opportunity to collect and remove any object, as long as the targets are not living, spatially influenced and/or of volume higher than the storage capacity.
Inventory :
-Black Iron Sword (Mythical)
-Fake portrait of Vaxus (Common)
-Used fork (Common)
-Dirty sock (Rare)
-----
A few days later, Sullas woke up, getting away from his bed, albeit with extreme difficulty, he yawned.
'Yesterday I finished cleaning everything, now I can finally start.'
Done with everything major, he now had time to train, starting with the cultivation technique, as he understood its importance from the information engraved room.
'It's talking about Mana, that I can at least understand, but it says to orbit the world... our world ?'
Reading again and again among many experimentation, Sullas finally realized its meaning a few weeks later.
"I see ! To orbit the world, is to orbit me ! In this case I am the world ! This makes much more sense for the next sentences as well !"
His surprise over the bold words he read was truly getting him flared up.
"So I have to make it orbit me, enter my body then... then what ? Enhance ? What does it want me to do ?!" A few hours later, his scalp filled with scratching marks, he slapped his face in understanding.
"What kind of moron am I ?! It just means to absorb it with my body !"
"As for the last of this part... circulate, I guess it's about making it spin inside ? Maybe move everywhere inside me ?"
Experimenting for weeks, Sullas finally managed to succeed, his senses now sharper than ever, able to feel the Mana all around, moving this energy a natural ability.
Taking notes, he continued to study the cultivation technique.
'The first one is just the Mana becoming the foundation, to what, I won't even bother for now. The second is weird, I'll pass. The third and fourth, aren't these words basically the same ? Is there a reason to use control and rule apart from just being proficient in the use of Mana ?'
'So first, Mana is the foundation, then it is trapped inside and I get stronger ? No, I just gain talent I believe, but how ?' His face scrunching, Sullas was having a hard time deciphering the cultivation technique.
'After that, I have to control it and then rule it... is there a difference ? Is this an important detail ? You know what, whatever.'
'That third part is easy ! Mana is unwilling to appear, but I'm already past that, then it won't stop, that I also managed to deal with it, for now.
Not helping is a problem for me now, the Mana just won't assimilate with my body like I want to ! And the last one, well, it's kind of the same, that stupid energy never gives up !'
His thoughts drifting, he suddenly had an epiphany.
"Wait !!" Shouting, he calmed himself down.
'I read at the other room that 'cultivators' pursue immortality, which is clearly related to these words, but it was also explained how evil they were, slaughtering people like nothing, giving priority to themselves instead of others in need... Is that a lesson ? Is this cultivation technique teaching me how to behave like a cultivator ? To never appear when people are in danger, to never stop what I'm doing... no, there are too many meanings !'
Going inside a room, he started to take out pieces of paper he had on him prior to this situation. Taking out a magic pen from his brown bag, he started to write.
Cultivators must be unwilling to appear, unwilling to stop if told or asked, unwilling to help no matter the situation, unwilling to submit even facing death. -Search why later Because they must behave like gods.
Cultivators never appear, never stop, never help, never submit.
Cultivators do not stop, always trying to be stronger, better and keep their born freedom.
Done with his initial thoughts, he realized that the other parts might also hide such meanings.
Opening his mouth, he could only mutter in defeat.
"Yeah, I'm not getting out of here soon..."