Deep within the heart of the dense jungle, where the air hung heavy with humidity and the cacophony of wildlife reverberated through the trees, a group of monks moved with silent grace. Clad in simple yet sturdy attire, each carrying an aura of tranquility amidst the verdant chaos.

Navigating the treacherous terrain, they traversed the dense undergrowth using the intricate network of lianas that crisscrossed the swampy forest floor. These skilled warriors of the monastery, honing their combat prowess, maneuvered effortlessly through the maze of flesh-eating plants and twisted vines that sought to ensnare the unwary.

The sound of rustling leaves and the occasional snap of a branch announced their presence, though their movements remained fluid and stealthy. Their feet landed softly on the ground, leaving almost no trace as they glided through the thick foliage.

As they progressed deeper into the jungle, the monks engaged in a unique form of combat training. Some leaped from tree to tree, utilizing the lianas as improvised ropes, demonstrating remarkable agility and balance. Others practiced intricate martial art forms amidst the swaying branches, their movements a harmonious blend of strength and finesse.

One monk, Master Lao, emerged as a focal point in this martial ballet. With a serene countenance and an air of wisdom, he led the group through the verdant labyrinth. His movements were a testament to his mastery, effortlessly evading the grasping tendrils of carnivorous plants that lurked beneath the dense canopy.

"Control your breath, maintain focus," Master Lao instructed, his voice carrying over the rustling leaves. "The jungle is an extension of our training ground. Learn to adapt, to flow with the rhythm of nature."

The monks synchronized their movements, their disciplined training evident in their precise strikes and acrobatic evasions. They used the lianas not just for traversal but also as tools for defense and offense, swinging and twirling with incredible agility.

Occasionally, a monk would pause to pluck a leaf or vine, examining its properties with a discerning eye. Master Lao emphasized the importance of understanding the flora that surrounded them, for knowledge was a weapon as potent as any physical skill.

As the training continued, the monks moved with a quiet intensity, their devotion to their craft evident in every fluid motion. In this dense jungle, amidst the perilous flora and challenges that nature presented, they sought enlightenment not just in combat but in the harmonious union of mind, body, and the environment that enveloped them.

Only after hours of training did they start to add the use of skills and spatial-Daos. Lorcan still was one of the slowest of the group, but he didn’t care. He soared through the jungle. His laughter sounding through the silence.

Baldy tried to shush him: “Shut up! I know you’re having fun, but do remember not to wake the beasts living here. Today is not planned as a combat exercise.”

Lorcan closed his mouth, but kept smiling. Until a system message appeared:

Capture the elusive (training regimen): Bring one live hexasquirrel to the entry door of the monastery, before the sun sets.

Reward: Dao vision.

Failure: End of training regimen

He cursed. Movement training was important, but he didn’t have a real fight for weeks. He vowed to join one of the hunting parties of monks right the next day. Now he had about three hours to find one of the most elusive monsters of the planet. “Master Tsuba, I’ve been given a quest by the Guiding Heavens. Seems like they think I’m too slow in my development. We will meet back at the monastery.”

Brother Tsuba looked surprised, but signaled him to continue. There had been similar quests in the past, but they were very rare and usually were only granted to warriors of extraordinary talent.

He swung up to the next tree and stopped on a giant branch. He looked around. The Condemning Heavens were never unfair. If he got the quest, there had to be a hexasquirrel nearby. He scanned his surroundings. One advantage of his evolved race he had found out, were massively improved pathways. Something he had been told right away, but he didn’t understand the importance then. He could not only store more Cosmic Energy than most cultivators at his level, he could also move it through his body much faster. Activating skills was nearly instantaneous and some could be super-charged and used in ways they were never designed to work. Until now he had few skills to test this on, but in the low visibility of the jungle world, his [Inquisitive Spatial Perception Eye] had proven invaluable. He rotated his Cosmic Energy through his pathways. After gaining enough speed, he directed it into the skill fractals behind his eyes, overcharging [Inquisitive Spatial Perception Eye]. His surrounding lit up with cosmic energy. It was a costly use of his usually almost free skill, but he could send out a scanning signal that highlighted every concentration of Cosmic Energy. It did of course alert any beasts or cultivators. He scanned around. Smaller beasts shot up and ran away. A giant plant-phoenix took flight, but only glanced at him before majestically gliding away.

One small source of Cosmic Energy kept stationary. He concentrated on it. The size fit. He turned off his skill while still supercharging his eyesight. With E-grade race pathways, this would have burned out his eyes in seconds, but as a D-grade human, it was no problem. He saw one branch bend downward farther than it should have. But there was nothing on it. Nothing he could see without his skill. He started running along the tree branch and jumped over to the next tree. Then he had to zig-zag from tree to tree to reach his destination. A wide swinging jump with a liana brought him flying directly at his target.

At the last second, he reactivated [Inquisitive Spatial Perception Eye]. The Cosmic Energy source was still there. But being scanned from this short distance startled it. An outline of a many limbed creatures became visible as a distortion of light moved to the end of the branch. It seemed to spread its limbs and the outline became much broader, just like sprouting wings. Lorcan cursed. He deactivated [Inquisitive Spatial Perception Eye] and circulated his Cosmic Energy through his legs. A boost of speed shot him forward and when the creature took flight, he jumped after it. He could have acquired a flying treasure, but that would have attracted too much attention. His jump made him collide with his fleeing target. He clutched it with his arms. Both dropped down toward the muddy swamp ground. He briefly considered trying to grip on of the trees near him to slow his descent, but considering those were natural D-grade trees with very rough bark, it would cause more damage than just falling. He hit the ground with a splash of mud, still gripping the small beast. Was this even a hexasquirrel? He hadn’t really checked. It would have been quite embarrassing, if he’d dropped into the mud for some unnamed herbivore.

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His feet found purchase and he pushed himself up, out of the muck. Gripped in his arm he found a foot long squirrel with two short and two longer forelegs and long muscled back legs. The longer forelimbs were connected to its hindlegs by a skin webbing. A hexasquirrel. He let out a sigh of relief. The hexasquirrel turned his head around almost 180, looked him in the eye… and phased right out of his grip. He jumped after it, but had too little purchase with the muddy ground. He splashed headlong into the mud. Again. His mind raced. He had less than two hours to fulfill his quest. Not enough time to find another hexasquirrel. He had to catch this one, even if it seemed to be some variant with a much more evolved bloodline. Hexasquirrels were known to use slight spatial distortions to avoid getting caught or hit. This one used an ability to become invisible and something akin to his own evasion skill. He steeled his resolve. His cultivator journey would not end because of a small rodent!

He gripped some liana and pulled himself up from the ground. Then he circulated the maximum amount of energy to his legs, barely below the limit he had found would explode even his pathways. He pushed himself of a tree and jumped after his target. The hexasquirrel used his skin-wings to veer to the side, easily evading him. Or so it seemed. Overcharging his evasion skill, he used [Evasive Spatial Shift] to basically short-range teleport. His skin and bones ached as the skill had never been intended for such a use. His reserve of Cosmic Energy dropped by a third and his pathways felt strained. But it worked. He appeared right above the rodent, closed his arms around it again and dropped into the muck. Again.

This time he concentrated on his Seed of Dimensions to feel space around himself. He exerted his will and… sealed it. He felt the hexasquirrel exert his own powers, but to no effect. Lorcan stood up, held the small beast with all his strength and started jogging toward the monastery. The sun was already hanging low on the horizon. All the way the rodent tried to wiggle itself out of his grip. Minutes passed. His head started to hurt as he taxed his Mental Energy to power his Dao.

The hexasquirrel turned his head around again and it looked at him accusingly. Then it opened his mouth and bit down on his arm. Hard. Lorcan grinned at its surprised look: “That won’t work, buddy. I replaced the standard monk robe with a custom-made version in the first week. This one has hidden inscriptions. The merchant house guaranteed it would stop everything below D-grade.”

The small beasty went invisible, but that didn’t help him. Lorcan felt it using some spatial Dao and kept it locked down. But his mind started to hurt.

He came to the area around the monastery that had been emptied of all plants. But since he came in from the wrong side, it was still mud. The road was on the other side. Shades went darker. The sun started setting. He circulated his remaining Cosmic Energy to his legs and started running through the muck. The suns shadow raced him. He would not make it. Mobilizing reserves, he didn’t even know he had, he became faster. It still wouldn’t be enough. Thinking fast he concentrated on the Dao of dimensions. A Dao Seed he rarely used and barely understood. He wanted his way to be shorter. To his surprise, space bend to his will. His mind seemed to burst into flames as he tried and somehow managed to enforce two different concepts of the same Dao.

He reached the door and jumped right by a surprised monk.

[Capture the elusive: Bring one live hexasquirrel to the entry door of the monastery, before the sun sets. (Complete): Reward: Dao vision, starting at next meditation.

As soon as he crossed the door, he let go of his Dao seeds and his captive. The hexasquirrel jumped at the nearest wall, pushed of and flew right for the exit. The usher monk stood aside. But the beast flapped his wings, stopped and fell to the floor. It looked around. Then walked slowly around the entrance hall. Lorcan was confused. He asked the monk: “Any idea why it isn’t leaving?”

“Well, I’d rather discuss why you brought a hexasquirrel here with such a hurry, but it felt like you were training your Dao. It probably feels the monastery’s cultivation array.”

“Can I keep it?”

“What? Well… You’d have to pay a fee to keep a pet inside the monastery. Since you’re on a stipend, you better ask your donor.”

“I will. And I already have a nice name for it. Vokari, an ancient word for traveler from my planet. It’s assumed to date back from before the integration.”

Later that evening, Vokari sat down on Lorcan’s prayer mat. The hexasquirrel sniffed the air excitedly after Lorcan burned some exquisite incense. Lorcan took a while to set up a cultivation array and gave his pet one of the Dao-fruits he’d got from his trust fund. Then he ate one himself. He was raised knowing you could not pay your way to enlightenment, but as he’d now learned, it made the road much easier and faster. He took the lotus position on a second prayer mat opposite his new friend and relaxed. Somehow, he knew the beast would not attack or hurt him. It was just too relaxed since entering the temple. He started to meditate and immediately was transported into a Dao vision.

He’d expected a vision of the life of a cultivator of a corresponding Dao, as was usually the norm for system induced visions. What he got was a vision of the birth and life of his small companion. The hexasquirrel protected a giant orchid, a natural treasure, and cultivated his bloodline by staying inside its pollen cloud. The vision followed the many fights against progressively bigger and higher-grade monsters, that tried to claim his orchid. It evolved the natural talent of his race for spatial manipulation to an ever-higher degree. Lorcan could see its reasoning. Its tries and errors and the insights it found. At last, a monk came to claim the orchid. The hexasquirrel fought him of until he was forced to use an escape talisman. Days later, a group of monks appeared and overpowered him with superior numbers, talismans and arrays.

The vision showed him many interactions of different parts of the Dao of space. It consolidated his own months of study and meditation. But he not only learned to better understand the Dao of Space, but also the beast itself. He had expected to increase his Dao seeds. He didn’t expect to get a new Dao Seed as well.

[Seed of Mammals: (Early): Vitality +10, Endurance +5]

[Seed of Dimensions (Middle): Vitality +15, Dexterity +10, Wisdom +5]

[Seed of Spatial Perception (Middle): Intelligence +15, Wisdom +5, Dexterity +10]

His new Dao seed also came with a title he’d never heard of:

[Scion of Dao: Attain five different Dao Seeds while still at F-Grade Reward: All stats +5]

He got some food for his new friend. While he waited at the kitchen, he took a look at his character sheet. Training and a few attribute treasures like the fruit of vitality or the apple of vitality had increased his attributes. Those would no longer help him, since he seemed to have almost reached the maximum they could provide. Or at least the maximum the system let him gain this way. His trust fund manager had also not managed to get his hand on anything to increase luck. No wonder, since those treasures were rare and sought after by practically everyone. Gaining two more levels through cultivation had also helped. But raising his knowledge of the Dao had proven to be the most effective way to increase raw stats.

While everything seemed to go along just fine, he knew he’d have to increase his cultivation speed. Getting a training regimen quest was likely meant to be a warning shot. Tomorrow he would spend in meditation to consolidate his Dao, but the day after he’d request to go to one of the hunting grounds alone. He’d look for worthy beasts and kill them to gain levels.