Rose diligently continued the internal energy circulation exercise she’d been ordered to demonstrate, but her ears perked up when she heard the old sect leader mention the origin of cultivation. The sect leader noticed her eyes gleam and chuckled.

“It’s a popular bedtime story for children, after all.” He explained to Micro with a nostalgic smile.

“No doubt Rose has heard it a hundred times or more.”

“What kind of story is it?” Micro asked, his own curiosity growing.

“It’s a wonderful story!” Rose blurted out, apparently by accident. She quickly closed her mouth and returned to her energy exercise.

“It’s the story of this world, Micro.” The sect leader began.

“Countless eras have passed since the days of the first cultivators. Humanity itself was a young race, unaware of the energy dwelling within us.”

“You were all mundane?”

“Like those who wallow in the dirt and toil away at trivial tasks, our ancestors were once a race of mortals as any other. There were no dungeons then, but there was war… Endless war…”

“I’ve heard of war…” Micro began, but he was suddenly distracted by a smell he had come to know well.

“Honey buns?!”

As the sect leader watched indifferently, the attendant called Sara suddenly appeared in the distance, quickly making her way to the area where Micro’s lesson was taking place.

“As requested by the young master…” She said coldly. She gracefully placed a small bag in front of him, bowed to the sect leader, and left without another word.

“A favourite of yours…?” The sect leader asked.

“These are great!” Micro replied with a honey bun already in his mouth.

“Do you want one?”

“No, thank you. Please enjoy them…”

“Okay!” Micro said as he took another bite.

“You said something about a war?”

“Indeed... No one was spared from the bloodshed that plagued this world back then. However, there emerged a hero in a nameless kingdom whose strength became legend. Rumours spread of a man whose body burned like the sun, whose voice roared like thunder, and whose sword cut like time.”

“He was the first cultivator!”

“His story is only legend now, but it is said that he lived a normal human life for a time. He was born, he cried, he laughed, and he loved as any other. However, one day, soldiers from an enemy kingdom came and stole his true love away.”

“No!”

“It was not uncommon in those barbarous days, but he refused to become a victim of fate. He vowed to find the woman he loved and bring vengeance to any who would do her harm.”

“Did he find her?!”

“Yes, but not before singlehandedly toppling the entire kingdom in the process. She was held in the tower of an evil prince who planned to marry her, but he used the power of heaven itself to turn that prince’s territory into a sea of blood.”

“Woah…”

“He returned home with his love in his arms, worshipped and adored by all who saw him. It wasn’t long before he had become king of his own land, and with his power, he conquered any land that opposed him. It wasn’t long before the first cultivator’s empire had filled the continent, and an era of peace had begun.”

“That’s a wonderful story!” Micro applauded happily from his seated position.

“But it isn’t over, I’m afraid.” The sect leader grinned.

“But he saved his wife and became a king.” Micro replied.

“What happened?”

“He became drunk on his power, and his power only increased! His people lived in constant fear of his whims, and their worship turned to hatred. Enemies emerged in every corner of his empire, never resting in their efforts to rid the world of such a powerful evil. None of them ever succeeded, and as punishment for their attempts to overthrow him, the first cultivator wiped out countless cities with his unmatched power.”

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“Oh no!” Micro gasped, nearly dropping the bun in his hand.

“However, he couldn’t bear the thought of losing the woman for whom he’d overturned the laws of nature, and so he taught his secret arts to his wife. They reigned over this world for centuries, becoming known as gods to the mundane peoples they oppressed.”

“That’s terrible!”

“But the first cultivator's wife was a merciful queen, and she could no longer turn her eyes away from the suffering of the mundane, and so she betrayed her husband and king.”

“What did she do?!”

“There was little that the king did not perceive with his all seeing eye, but she bided her time, waiting for but a single moment to act. She left the castle one day while the king was in a deep state of meditation, and she taught his secret art to a single boy, a humble gardener. She taught him only the most fundamental of techniques, then told him to run as far away from the castle as he could and spread her teachings to all who would listen.”

“Then more people learned to cultivate?”

“Yes, and when the king learned of what she had done, he flew into a violent rage! He locked her away and attempted to track down each and every new cultivator, but it was too late. The seed his wife had planted had grown and spread until cultivators with powers matching even the king’s own had emerged.”

“What happened to the king and queen?”

“It is said that the first cultivator died in battle, though where he fought is lost to history. As for his wife, there are some who say she fled the empire, while some suggest she may have fled this realm. The era of cultivation began in such a way, but it was not an era of peace.”

“They kept fighting, after all that?”

“They did, for they were driven only by fear. Their desire for power was motivated by hatred born of that fear. And their powers only inspired fear. The world would surely have ended if not for the immortal’s descent.”

“The immortal…?”

“He is the first god known to this world, a wandering immortal whose powers surpassed the wildest fantasies of any human. Compared to the evil king they’d only just overthrown, his power was infinite, absolute, and unchallenged. He happened upon this world when it was at its most hopeless state, and took pity. He declared that the cultivators of this world were blind to their limitless potential, and he invited us to ascend to the immortal realm where he resided after overcoming their primitive ways of life.”

“I think… I think I understand…” Micro stuttered as he reached into the bag in front of him, only to find it empty.

“He created the dungeons with a snap of his finger, blessing us with both the trials needed to test our strength, and the Core Cards which would provide the worthy with his advanced teachings.”

“So, you cultivate because you want to visit him?” Micro asked while scratching his aching head.

“That is not inaccurate, young one…” The sect leader sighed.

“Since then, cultivators have been guided by dungeons and the techniques taught by Core Cards down a new path. No longer do we seek power with which to destroy our neighbour. Now, we seek only to strengthen ourselves, and in the perfection of our arts, we seek to ascend beyond the known limits of cultivation.”

“Then the Core Cards are just instructions…?”

“That is correct. They are a means for us to attain knowledge of techniques that were only known to the immortals. They are the single most precious gift that our world has received.”

“Speak for yourself, baldy.” Blue snapped as she jumped out of Micro’s pocket and landed on the ground beside him.

“Pixies were a lot better off before humans got their hands on those stupid cards!”

Rose froze in place when she realized there was a pixie standing several paces from her.

“You are aware of the origin of these cards, little one?” The sect leader asked as he took a small step back.

“You’re asking me that?” She asked sarcastically.

“It wasn’t that long ago, was it? Anyways, teach me cultivation.”

“What?!” The sect leader stumbled back to the rock where he’d been seated.

“You heard me! I’ve got this core all of a sudden, but I can’t get it to work properly…” She mumbled as a light around her flickered.”

“We usually just absorb energy without much thought. I must admit, you cultivators came up with something pretty handy. Now teach me how to fill it up.”

“But pixies can’t cultivate… You’re…” The sect leader stammered.

“She taught me how to pick energy up out of the rain before.” Micro added.

“Isn’t that like cultivation?”

“What?!” The sect leader blurted out again.

“That’s like trying to warm your hands by sticking them into a raging fire! The instability would tear you apart along with your core!”

“When you put it that way…” Blue mumbled, still trying to figure out how to make use of her core.

“I never had a problem storing it in my body, but this core is really finicky… I can’t… Agh!”

She suddenly fell backward with a bright flash of light, releasing a small shockwave of energy as she landed.

“Of course you can’t just force such a powerful force into a core!” The sect leader gasped.

“It’s a wonder you survived such an attempt… Cultivation at the earliest stages is a delicate art…”

“Well fine then, teach me how to do it ‘properly’ now.” Blue asked with a tone so sarcastic it was hard to tell if she was serious.

“You’re a pixie… I won’t teach something like-” The sect leader stuttered, struggling to fill his voice with its usual power, but he was interrupted by a shrill sound.

“Huh?!” She screamed back.

“And why is that?”

“You aren’t a cultivator!” He shouted back.

“This is the Fire Mountain Turtle Art sect, not a palace of madness!”

“Oh, I almost forgot.” Blue answered more calmly as she stood up and jumped back into Micro’s pocket, only to reappear with a core card under her arm.

“I’ve already got the turtle card here, and I passed your stupid test, didn’t I?”

“You… That…” He mumbled, shifting his eyes here and there.

“That’s enough story time, baldy. Bunch of cultivator nonsense, anyway…” She said with a yawn as she threw the Core Card on the ground, then proceeded to sit on it like a mat.

“Let’s cultivate!”

“Let’s cultivate!” Micro cheered along with her.

“Let’s…” Rose mumbled, unable to find a second word to utter.

“Madness…” The sect leader replied, shaking his head in resignation.

“Fine… Let’s begin.”