“I wonder,” I said aloud, then reached for the chest and used my ability to absorb it. What happened next came as a pleasant surprise.

You have absorbed a treasure chest, +3 Mass, +10 Storage slots.

After a few more seconds I shrugged, took out my pen, blank map, and compass and absorbed them.

You have absorbed a pen, a blank map, and a compass. You have gained +1 mass, you have gained access to the mapping feature, you have gained the Racial Ability: Cartography, which allows you to read/write maps, currently the distance and flight paths are disabled until you find the appropriate tools to add to the ability.

Now that caught my interest and I opened up the map feature and watched as it drew out the current sector I was in. The hole showed up as a spot on the map, and when I ‘clicked’ on it a blank mapped area showed up, just the start of the hole I could see in there. I thought about adding the keys, then decided that would not be a good idea, and stood up and went over to the hole in the ground.

“No time like now, I guess.”

I got down on all fours, and poked my head down the hole, and saw the map extended inside a little, then continued until I was about ten feet in, then realized my mistake. It was dark I could not see anything and had no light source. I debated on whether I should go back, or find another solution to my problem. As I pondered I sat down with my legs crossed and my arms rested with gentle pressure just below my knees. In this position, I went into a meditative state.

You have successfully used meditation +3 points.

I ignored the message and got into deep meditation, the with the utmost caution, I reached into my chi and ran it throughout my body. Then I sent a little outside of my body and infused it with the essence of light. I had forgotten that chi used outside of the body does not last long, yet I got a message that got my hopes down even further.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

You may not use your powers to ‘cast’ as normal, use your aura or enhancements.

“Ack, that even applies to this, what a rip off!”

I settled back down, and reentered meditation, and got another message.

You have successfully used Meditation +3 points.

You have unsuccessfully used chi cultivation +1 point.

I reached back in and felt my chi again, but got distracted as I found three other sources of power inside of myself. I took my time and explored the powers inside. Chi was a bright and powerful golden glow, that made me feel more alive and at peace with all around me, while one of the powers also made me feel more alive, it was all over the place and had a red glow, which changed between harsh and bright, to soft and dull. After about an hour I realized this was my life, and moved on to the next power, which felt majestic and powerful. It glowed a bright and serene blue, and after two more hours, I realized this was my mana, that which fueled spells and enchantments. With a smile, I left the mana and turned towards the last power. This one was silent, calm, and had a sly feel too it. It glowed a with a slight silver light, which pulsed with each thought. This was my psi, the power from my mind.

I decided to cultivate all four, and see what would happen. After five hours and several messages which I had put off, I stood back up and read them.

Meditation has gained +2 points.

Cultivation of Chi is successful +3 points.

Cultivation of Life is successful +3 points.

Cultivation of Mana is successful +3 points.

Cultivation of Psi is successful +3 points.

While you are not the first to cultivate each of these, you are the first to cultivate all 4 at once. You gain a new Mandatory Title: Cultivator of All.

Cultivator of all is always active and takes no title slots.

Active: When you cultivate/meditate your regeneration of you pools quadruples. You gain +0.25 to regeneration rates when not meditating/cultivating. You gain an additional +0.50 to all pools.

“Nice, now then, to get some light,” and I gathered all my powers but life and started to fill my aura with them while I encouraged light essence to fuse with them. When I opened my eyes, there was a soft glow in a twenty-five-foot globe around me, where it wasn’t cut off from a surface, such as a wall or a floor. With a smile, I started back down the hole, and wondered to myself, with some words I would soon find to be prophetic.

“Maybe there are some rabbits down here.”