Pulling up her quest notification, she still had five days until her ascension deadline. Samantha briefly considered returning to the temporary nexus that formed after she killed Alex, but decided against it for several reasons. Firstly, absorbing just a High-Copper nexus from the Rat King had taken her three full days, and she had gotten thoroughly lost in the process. Granted, there were extenuating circumstances in that particular scenario, but she didn’t trust that she wouldn’t accidentally cultivate past the deadline. Secondly, she didn’t want to risk some other unexpected crisis delaying her yet again. Thirdly, with all her family out of the city and the shop sold, she’d have nowhere to go and staying in the area would only be a painful reminder of their absence.
When she finally reached the Lord’s Palace and announced her intent to ascend, she and Silas were promptly led to the Registrar’s Hall. Unlike when she had last been here, there were two guards stationed in front of the door. Before they had even fully climbed the stairs leading to the Hall, one of the guards called out to her with a monotone, practiced spiel, “You who seek to ascend may enter the Registrar’s Hall, but will not be permitted to leave once you do. After registering, descend the stairs and you will find the entrance to the obelisk.”
Samantha looked sideways at the obelisk that was clearly next to the building, and was about to ask a clarifying question, but the other guard piped up with the information she wanted before she had the chance, “The obelisk you see there is just the top portion. A majority of it is underground, which you will reach through the Hall.”
She nodded her understanding and pressed her hand against the door. After taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she pushed it open, let Silas inside, then followed after him. With one final look back as the door closed behind her, she officially left Yivesh–and her days on the first floor–behind her.
Unlike the outside of the structure which almost looked like it was made from darkness, the inside of the Registrar’s Hall was brightly lit. Every surface seemed to emanate light, though there was no distinct source the light came from. There was no fancy furniture, no beautiful artwork, and no staff to greet her. In the large, open room, there was only a jade podium that dominated the center space. There were no stairs visible, so her immediate thought was that she had been tricked into a trap. Not seeing an obvious way out of this conundrum, Samantha kept her calm and decided to take things one step at a time. Maybe something would happen after she registered.
She approached the podium and saw that there were only two things on its surface. The first was the carved out image of a left hand, and the second was an open book that appeared to be made completely out of jade. On the open pages were a list of names, cultivation ranks, and dates that appeared to be carved into the stone. The left page was completely filled in, but the right page was only partially completed. The most recent entry on the right page was for Harold Greene, who apparently put his name into the book just over a day ago.
Samantha placed her left hand over the carved image and light started pouring from the jade book. She felt a small amount of energy be pulled from her dantian, and she watched with awe as her name began to appear in the book below Harold’s. Once her information had been fully scribed onto the page, a strong jolt of power emanated from the podium and a flash of bright light caused her to close her eyes.
When she opened them, she was floating inside the vast library of books that resided within her dantian.
“No! I didn’t just die, did I?” she whined, then had an idea. “Silas! What happened? Did I just die?”
“No. You’re just standing there with your eyes closed. Why?”
“I’m back in my dantian… it’s strange. I’ll let you know more when I do.”
She didn’t need to wait long before something unusual happened.
A closed doorway appeared several feet in front of her, floating in mid air. Curious, she floated around the object but it looked identical on each side. After a few seconds, a knocking sound came from the door, followed by a woman’s voice.
“Samantha Cray, may I come in?” the voice asked politely.
Samantha was left speechless. How was she supposed to answer that question?
“I’m sure you’re very confused right now, but I want to assure you that I am here to help you register and prepare for your eventual ascension. You can refuse me entry, as is your right, but I will not be able to give you much advice. I will only be able to give you the most basic information.” the voice offered.
“Can you give me the most basic information first, and then I decide?”
“I’m afraid that with this one sided connection my time with you is very limited. By the time I finish telling you what you need to know, I will need to leave. If you permit me entry, I will have more time to speak with you.”
This entire situation was incredibly odd, but she got the feeling that the woman was being genuine. Not to mention that this was clearly part of the registration process, so that gave her additional comfort. “You may enter.” Samantha answered, floating back from the door to give it space to open.
“My thanks.”
The door smoothly slid open and a gorgeous woman stepped into her library. The woman’s features looked almost unreal, like her face was part of a too-perfect drawing of what true beauty should look like. Once the door shut behind the woman Samantha felt a minor draw on her qi reserves.
“Now, we can maintain our connection for as long as you and I have the qi to sustain it. I would guess we have about an hour to speak before your pool is emptied. To save time, let me tell you all the basics, and then you can ask me questions.”
Samantha nodded, and gestured for the woman to continue.
“First, allow me to assure you that I am a real person, and not some spirit or vengeful manifestation. I am simply projecting my consciousness with the use of an art. Second, as for why I’m here, I have been assigned as your representative as you advance through the World Spire. As your representative, my goal is to answer your questions and help to prepare you for what is to come. I’d also like to congratulate you on successfully reaching the Bronze ranks. As you are aware, the Copper stages are incredibly volatile due to the inability to fully control your third eye opening upon advancement. Add on top of that the low qi saturation on the first floor, your impressive advancement speed, and the formation of a Unique Core–you should be very proud of yourself. Now, Let me tell you a bit about the World Spire, its purpose, and some history about the outside world.”
Samantha’s eyes widened at that last sentence. She didn’t even know there was a world outside the spire. There was also the fact that the woman said she was projecting her consciousness to speak with her, and Samantha had seen a similar art called [Spectral Projection] in Rank 3 of [Jackalope of All Trades]. Would it be possible to send her own consciousness down to the first floor and maybe keep in contact with her parents?
Unaware of Samantha’s inner thoughts, the woman kept speaking, “Long ago this planet was only occupied by mortal humans and mundane plants and animals. Then, Divine Beasts came down from the heavens to live alongside us and help us prosper–or so we thought. At first their interactions with humans was enlightening and helpful. We treated them as gods and worshiped them for the boons and protections they granted us. They unlocked the power within the core of our planet–some call it the Primordial Core, or the ‘Origin’–and revealed to us the wonders of qi.
“As the qi density of the planet grew, cultivators were born. We marveled at the superhuman feats we could achieve, at the long lives we gained…but not all could cultivate. Those who lacked the ability to cultivate soon died by the thousands, unable to withstand the ever increasing density of the ambient energy around them. Then, even those that could cultivate but were weaker began to suffer. The qi warped and mutated them, turning them mad and transforming them into abominations. Then, the unborn became affected. None but the most powerful cultivators could bring new life into the world, and there were not many who had reached that level. We as a species began to dwindle…”
The woman paused, looking sad for a moment, before continuing somberly, “...the human race was traveling quickly down the road to extinction. To make matters worse, the Divine Beasts turned on us, their true intentions finally revealed. They did not expect us to adapt. Survive. To them, we were parasites, stealing power from the Origin that was rightfully theirs. And so, the war against our gods began, and the golden age of Divine Beasts ended in a churning sea of blood. The human race united and rebelled against the conductors of our annihilation, and they could not withstand the force of our wrath. After the first Divine Beast, Xiomar the Colossus, was defeated, we discovered that his flesh and bones retained extraordinary power even after his death. Thus, we used his remains to craft the first World Spire–a sanctuary for cultivators too weak to withstand the ever increasing qi density without corruption or death.”
Samantha’s head was spinning with all of this new information and she couldn’t stay quiet any longer, “There are other world spires?”
“Many others. As numerous as the Divine Beasts we’ve slain.”
“Wait… does that mean I’m going to die from the qi density once I ascend?” Samantha asked, starting to panic, “Or mutate into an abomination?”
Still burned into Samantha’s memory was her first experience of her third eye opening. She had seen what could be considered abominations, then, for a moment. Fleshy creatures of twisted limbs and rage, so horrible that even recalling the vision made her shiver.
“This is why I said to hold on to the questions until after I finished with the basics.” the woman said, attempting to assuage her fear, “No, the second floor is not a death sentence in and of itself. The World Spires have 10 floors in total, with each floor doubling the qi density so that you can slowly acclimate to the conditions on the outside. If you ascend through the 10 floors successfully and exit the Spire, you will find it no more uncomfortable than your time here on the first floor.”
“That’s why it’s so hard to advance to Silver on this floor!” Samantha exclaimed with realization, “The qi density is too low here!”
The woman smiled kindly at her, “You are correct. Conversely, ascending to floors of higher density will result in faster advancement and the ability to open more meridians. Those that refuse to ascend will never make it far in cultivation. Low Silver seems to be the most anyone can achieve on the first floor, and that’s only if they strictly limit how many meridians they open.”
Samantha was about to ask another question, but the woman held up her hand to forestall her. Samantha sheepishly smiled and nodded for her to continue.
“The World Spire’s original purpose was to allow for the continuation of humanity, and to eventually provide us with strong warriors to assist in creating even more World Spires. But, with time, a new and even greater use for the Spires were also discovered. Reincarnation.” The woman gestured around her to the stacks of books within Samantha’s dantian, “I can tell by the size and volume of this library that you were an old soul in a past life–perhaps several past lives. Each of these books contains a fragment of your past, whether that be a memory of a technique you once learned, a memory of a past love or family member, it’s all contained here. These fragments are a culmination of who you were, who you could be again, and who you are becoming now, to be passed along in your next life.”
The woman paused for a minute to let Samantha take in that information. Samantha looked around with new respect and awe at the tomes, wondering about who she was before. She was also somewhat fearful about if her past self would somehow overwrite who she was now as she uncovered more memories. Then, a seed of doubt entered her mind. She recalled how she was unable to open many of the books the last time she was here, and how they seemed to have cultivation rank limits on them.
“If this was all knowledge I previously possessed, why can’t I access all of it now?” she asked.
“It’s a common practice when reincarnating to put limiters on what your future self can see. Imagine for a second that I was to give you the knowledge to perform one of the most powerful arts your past self learned. This wouldn’t just be the technique itself, but insights into your own body, the nature of qi, hundreds of years of understanding gained through trial and error. In the best case scenario, your current self who is still young and hasn’t even seen her 100th year, would survive the process but would gain little from the insight. The most likely outcome, however, would be the complete destruction of your mind, as the hundreds of years of context included in the memory washed away your current consciousness. Trust in your past self, who placed these restrictions, that they are there for your own good.”
“Is that where third eye visions come from as well? Past memories I mean. I thought they were visions of the future.”
“The future is ever shifting–no one can predict or see it. If you’ve glimpsed something familiar in your visions, it just means you’ve experienced it in your past. Third eye visions are… let’s say… mostly undirected access to the many books you are allowed to ‘read’, although some direction is possible even at the copper ranks. When in need, many people reach out unconsciously for knowledge that would help them from their past lives. The reason your third eye is forced open at the copper ranks is because your spirit is weak and lacks control. It isn’t until the Bronze ranks that you finally have a small amount of control, and you begin to be able to hold off your insights for later use.”
The woman squinted her eyes at Samantha a bit, then continued, “I see you have an insight now that you have left unused from your last advancement. You could use it to enter a third eye state at any point you wished, but that’s not the most efficient way to spend it. You’re actually quite fortunate–we have more time to speak than most cultivators ascending to the second floor get, and I am willing to show you a better way to use it.”
Ever since Samantha had first left this space with her insight point unused, she wondered if it would be worth it to purposefully die just to enter her dantian again. To be given the opportunity to spend it without dying, and be guided by someone who clearly knew more about it than she did, was a great boon, “Please! Please do!”
The woman laughed at her enthusiasm, “Very well. But you’ve managed to get me off track again. I’m almost through with the basics and then you can ask me all the questions we have time for. So, the World Spire allows for the souls of cultivators to be reincarnated–and don’t ask me about how the process works because explaining it would take much longer than an hour. To have the greatest of our fellows slain in battle yet still return to us given enough time, has been instrumental in our success. Previously, Divine Beasts would target our most experienced warriors. When those cultivators died, whatever knowledge they hadn’t managed to pass on to a protege or apprentice would be lost to us forever. Now though, as long as we continue holding the Beasts at bay and the World Spires continue to exist… nothing will ever be truly lost. That’s where you come in. Whether you were a mighty fighter in your past life, or an educated scholar, you are needed. Humanity’s continued existence hangs in the balance, and if we lose the war the fall of the World Spires will come shortly after.”
That final thought was sobering for Samantha. The World Spires were at risk of being destroyed if the cultivators on the outside couldn’t manage to hold back the Divine Beasts. At any moment the entire Spire could collapse and kill every inhabitant within and she was furious with the City Lord after hearing this news. How could he keep this from people? It was one thing to make the personal choice to sit in safety while others fought and died on his behalf, but to prevent others from making their own choice on whether to take up arms as well? She was thoroughly disgusted. Perhaps Lord Braxand was right in wanting to overthrow him.
Samantha told the woman about the City Lord’s actions and how he was preventing cultivators from finishing their core quest, and the woman nodded sadly, “It’s not uncommon. When properly informed of what’s at stake, most cultivators choose to ascend to higher floors. This typically leaves only lower ranking cultivators and mortals behind, which weakens the overall power of a city. So, some leaders choose to withhold this information so they can play at being King. They don’t realize how short sighted this is, and how great their power could be if only they found the courage to do what must be done. But, let’s not waste anymore time discussing cowards. I’m sure you have many questions for me.”
She had countless questions, but she decided to ask the one that had been bothering her the most, “Will I ever be able to come back down to this floor?”
“It is possible to physically return here upon exiting the spire, however that option has never been chosen by anyone who has ascended. I’m restricted from telling you why at this stage, but I will say this: the cost is much too high.”
“Well, you’re speaking to me from outside the tower, right? Can I at least do something like that to keep in touch with my family?” she pressed, the glimmer of hope making her desperate.
“That much is doable and has been done in the past. I’m sure you have wondered where legends of spirits and ghosts on your floor come from? Many have sought to check up on their descendants over the years, but the further the projection the more destabilized the connection becomes. I can only contact you now due to your interaction with the Registrar’s Hall. If the Spire’s power was not assisting me, I might only appear as a vague shape and be limited to communicating broken sounds. You can see how that might be interpreted by some as a vengeful apparition. But, the closer you are to the floor you’re trying to reach, the easier it is, though you would need a powerful projection art.”
Joy bloomed in Samantha’s chest. There was a chance. With that weight taken off of her mind for the moment, she asked the next pressing question, “What can I expect on the second floor?”
“I’m not allowed to tell you any specifics about floors you haven’t visited yet. What I can say is that each floor is representative of a real biome that exists outside the spire. The first floor of this spire, for example, was modeled after some of our sprawling forests.”
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
“Can you tell me about why there are spirit beasts in the spire if it was meant for humans? And why can we bond with them if we’re at war with the Divine Beasts?”
“Ah, you must’ve unlocked a bloodline of your bond to be asking that. Spirit beasts are either the result of divine beasts intermingling with mortal animals, or, like humans, mundane animals adapting to the increasing qi density and developing their own cores. The answer to your first question is that we want you to be well prepared to fight the Divine Beasts, and putting their descendants in here with you to fight is the closest approximation we can give you. As for your second question, forming bonds seems to be an inborn function of magical beasts. Part of the reasons we worshiped Divine Beasts as gods is because they bonded with their followers and granted them additional powers. Perhaps Divine Beasts were once regular spirit beasts themselves before they came to our world. Unfortunately, I’m not a scholar, so I don’t have a complete answer for you. Also, I suggest you wrap up your questions soon if you want me to show you how to use the insight. Our time is running short now.”
Now that the woman had pointed it out, Samantha noticed that her qi pool only had a little bit remaining, “Okay, last question then. How long does it normally take to ascend the spire?”
“Most people take between 20 and 100 years. I have heard of very driven or talented individuals managing it in 5 to 10 years, though I wouldn’t recommend that since your body will have a difficult time keeping up with the rapid changes. I know 100 years seems like a long time, but in the grand scheme of things it’s really quite short. I myself am nearing my 1000th birthday, and there are many even older than that.”
“Thank you for all this information. It’s a lot to think about. I’m ready for you to show me how to use my insight, if you don’t mind.”
“Certainly. The most important thing to remember is that all of this…” the woman made a sweeping gesture at the shelves, “...is you. You have full control over everything inside of here. If you wish to find a memory that is relevant to a specific need or topic, you just need to concentrate on what you’re seeking and the book will present itself to you if it exists. You can then spend an insight of the appropriate rank to unlock that knowledge. If it turns out the information isn’t what you were hoping for, you can close the book and get the insight refunded. However, if you do this, you will completely forget what the memory contained.
“I recommend storing those rejected books somewhere separately, so you don’t accidentally keep coming back to the same thing. Once you have a memory that you’re interested in integrating with yourself, simply take it with you when you leave your dantian instead of reshelving it. Granted, you won’t be able to come back to this space on your own until at least Gold rank, so I would recommend spending that insight now instead of chancing a third eye vision. Why don’t you give it a try?”
Samantha did as she was instructed, choosing not to inform the woman that she could in fact return here whenever she wanted so long as she was willing to die. She visualized seeking a new healing technique to replace her repurposed [Flawless Regeneration] skill. She wanted something that worked faster than the regeneration skill had, but still left her without lingering damage or scarring. If it was an ability she could use on others and not just herself, that would be even better.
As she concentrated on that desire, a book appeared in her hand.
Prior Knowledge (High Copper) available for purchase. Would you like to spend a point of insight to unlock this knowledge? Y/N
Third Eye Insights Remaining: 1 (Low Bronze)
Samantha selected yes.
She perused the contents of the book, but decided that this particular technique wasn’t a good fit for her. She closed the book, and everything she had learned about the skill had completely disappeared from her mind after the insight point was refunded. She was only left with the vague impression that it wasn’t what she was looking for. She set it aside, then tried again. This time she added the stipulation that she wanted a Low Bronze ranked technique. Before long, a new book appeared in her hand.
Prior Knowledge (Low Bronze) available for purchase. Would you like to spend a point of insight to unlock this knowledge? Y/N
Third Eye Insights Remaining: 1 (Low Bronze)
Again, she selected yes.
This technique was a healing art that functioned on touch. It was compatible with many open meridians, but due to the nature of the art was easiest to use if the skin or a hand meridian was open–the skin meridian being the more efficient of the two options. It was usable on both herself or others, so long as the part of the body utilizing the open meridian could touch near the wounded area. She would theoretically be able to heal any part of her body easily since she had an open skin meridian. It was quite expensive at 10 qi per use, but it was capable of healing severe wounds near instantly without scarring which would be helpful especially if she found herself dead again and needed to get back on her feet quickly. This brought up another question she hadn’t thought to ask.
“This skill is the one I needed! Thanks for everything. One last question before you go–can you use any arts while in your projected state?” Samantha said quickly, feeling her qi pool bordering on empty.
“Yes, I’ve used several while here with you. It takes quite a lot of practice, and it is more difficult to achieve the further away you are from your body, but it’s possible. Some arts can’t be used while projecting though, so you’ll need to experiment to find what works for you.”
The closed door behind the woman opened up again by its own volition, and she gracefully stepped over the threshold. Right before the door fully shut itself, the woman called out, “I’m looking forward to watching your progress. See you when you ascend again!”
The door snapped shut with finality, then promptly vanished from sight.
This entire conversation had been incredibly informative to her, and it would probably take several days to process all the new things she had learned. So much about what she had been told completely shifted her perspective on her life, the world, and her place in it, and she wasn’t sure how she would feel about everything once the shaken up thoughts settled in her mind.
She couldn’t believe that this was not her first life, and it seemed crazy that all of her third eye visions so far had really been a glimpse into her past self. It was then that she recalled the vision she had in the sewers after consuming the cultivation elixir. In that vision, she had not been human at all, but a spirit beast. She had tried in vain to save her bonded human who was attempting qi saturation before dying alongside him. What did that mean about who she had once been? Was it possible for a human to reincarnate into a spirit beast, or vice versa?
Samantha’s thoughts were interrupted as she felt herself being pulled from her dantian. She held onto the open book in her hands tightly, and a bright flash from the drop of liquid power in her center blinded her yet again. When she blinked the light away she was back in the Registrar’s Hall and found a gaping, rectangular hole had opened up in the floor in front of the jade podium. Leading into the hole and out of sight were a set of stairs–the stairs the guards must’ve been talking about earlier.
As she removed her hand from the podium, she received a series of notifications.
Core Quest: Unlock Your Potential (Part 5 of 5) [COMPLETE]
You have survived your return to Yivesh and successfully reported to the Registrar’s Hall! You have successfully completed all parts of this chain quest.
Reward: +1 Third Eye Insight (Low Bronze)
Core Quest: Answer the Call (Part 1 of 10) [IN-PROGRESS]
Time Remaining: 5 years
Now that you know the purpose of the World Spire and the stakes of the Divine Beast war, you have been given the opportunity to ascend. Prepare as best you can, then approach the Ascension Obelisk when you are ready to join the war effort.
Congratulations! You have gained insight into a new technique.
Flawless Healing Touch (Rare)
Qi Cost: 10 qi
When touching near an injury on yourself or others, you can near instantaneously heal the wound to perfect condition.
Samantha’s mind became somewhat foggy as she experienced vague flashes of memory. She recalled being a medic and using this art hundreds, maybe thousands of times on wounded cultivators and mortals alike. She remembered first learning the skill and being disappointed that although it effectively closed wounds it often left her patients maimed. Over the years she refined and perfected her craft so that those who were entrusted to her care left it whole, rather than simply alive.
As the context for her new knowledge kept coming in waves, her head began to ache with mental strain. Her past self was analyzing and manipulating the original art in ways she didn’t understand, and though she was clearly benefiting from that expertise now she couldn’t fully comprehend how she had managed it. Like a word that was stuck on the tip of her tongue, or the last vestiges of a fading dream, she could only grasp at the very edges of the truths that were being uncovered. It was frustrating.
Once the memory had ended she spent some time passing on all that she had learned to Silas. She was slightly worried that he would take offense at humanity’s ultimate goal of killing his progenitors, but he was unfazed by the information. To him, her enemies were his enemies, and it didn’t matter who or what that enemy was.
Once they were ready to continue onwards, she and Silas made their way down the newly revealed staircase. After they had descended 20 or so steps, the hole above them that led back to the Registrar's Hall silently slid closed, briefly sealing them in darkness until the stairs began to glow dimly.
It took several minutes of brisk walking to traverse the steps, and at the end of the staircase the somewhat narrow underground tunnel they had been traveling through opened up into a vast cavern. The cavern was lit by a mesmerizing rainbow of glittering crystals that emerged from the rocky walls, and piercing through the center of the cave was the enormous base of the obelisk. The base looked to be at least a hundred feet wide, and leading inside the obelisk was an open archway nearly 20 feet tall. Samantha could not see anything beyond the archway other than a solid wall of blue light.
A shuffling sound off to her left caught her attention, and she noticed a squinting Harold approaching her cautiously with his arm drawn back–as if he were about to throw something at her. His eyesight was clearly not as good as her own.
“It’s me, Harold. You can put down… whatever that is in your hand.” Samantha called out.
His tense posture instantly relaxed, and he put the item away, “What took you so long? I’ve been waiting for ages.”
“I was helping save the city! And it’s only been a little over a day.”
“Well I’ve been down here without food, water, or a bathroom that entire time! Give me the supplies you’ve brought–I’m practically dying.” he complained.
Samantha knew that even a mortal could survive a day without food or water, but didn’t fight him on the point. She handed over the sack of rations she had purchased for him and he dug into it greedily.
“Shouldn’t you try and save some of that for the second floor?”
“What’s the point of saving it if I’m likely to die anyway. I might as well perish with a full stomach. You know what my representative had the nerve to tell me? He mocked me for trying to ascend after being a cultivator for only a day, and said ‘good luck in your next life’, whatever that means! Then I nearly passed out from qi deprivation when that cursed jade podium sucked away all of my energy– it took me hours to fully recover!”
She guessed that not all representatives were as kind or helpful as hers had been.
“What is your qi pool and regeneration rate now?” she inquired.
“Well, the vortex mark I gained gives me an extra 0.2 regeneration an hour, but because I haven’t had a chance to find any proper cultivation techniques, I’m stuck with my natural values. That’s a qi pool of 5 and I regenerate 0.3 qi per hour, counting the mark.”
Samantha cringed. With a qi pool that pitiful, she was surprised that his representative was able to get out even that much before losing the connection.
“They didn’t teach you a basic pattern during your primary education? Every child in Yivesh learns at least that much in case they decide to pursue cultivation.”
“The city I grew up in did teach us a pattern, but I forgot. I declined the cultivation quest decades ago–I never expected I would actually need that knowledge again.”
Samantha huffed out a frustrated sigh, “I can’t in good conscience let you ascend like this. Let me tell you some of the information I got from my representative while I teach you a suitable cultivation technique. Since I’m short on time you’ll learn the basic one Yiveshian children know, and once we get up to the second floor we’ll see about teaching you a better one.”
She proceeded to lead him through the basic breathing exercises and coached him on his qi flow while she passed on the knowledge she had gained about the World Spire and the outside world.
Harold was a difficult student since he questioned everything rather than just following her directions. It took a long time for him to accept her as a teacher and take her instructions seriously, as ‘looking inwards sounded like spiritual babble’ and he bemoaned the fact that there wasn’t ‘a more scientific approach’ for him to try. After several hours of arguing with the stubborn man, she finally wore him down enough where he was open to learning. At that point, they progressed quickly until he was able to maintain the pattern with relative consistency.
“It worked! I have a qi pool of 10 and a regeneration rate of 0.7!” he said happily.
Samantha had almost forgotten what it was like to be Low Copper. She really had come a long way these last few months.
“Great! Now onto ascension… did you figure anything out about how to use the obelisk while you were down here?”
“You think I would risk getting anywhere near that ominous thing before you arrived? No chance. In fact, you should probably go first, since you’re the strongest. Actually, maybe send the spirit beast first? It’d be really bad for me if you died right away.”
She rolled her eyes, “Silas and I will go ahead of you, but follow us closely. We might get separated somehow if you’re too far away.”
Once the trio reached the archway, Samantha experimentally reached forward and brushed her fingertips against the wall of light. A zap of energy shot through her fingers, down her arm, and straight into her core. She felt a twinge of pain as something shifted within her, but the moment quickly passed.
Integrated Vortex Mark detected! As a reward for participating in the hidden quest “Cull the Weak”, your mark will be enhanced upon reaching the second floor.
As soon as she closed that notification, a new one took its place.
Warning, you are about to ascend! Be aware that all spiritual ties to this floor will be severed once you’ve passed through the teleportation archway. All techniques that utilize a spiritual tether, such as waypoints, geasa, or tracking arts will be harmlessly dissolved. If you have an active Spirit Bond, make sure that you maintain physical contact while passing through the archway if you wish to preserve the binding thread.
A heavy emotional weight was lifted from Samantha’s shoulders as she read this message. Even if she had picked [Moonlight Gate] or [Moonlight Step] before this point, she wouldn’t have been able to come back to this floor. She hadn’t missed out on an ability that would have allowed her to see her family in person again. It was a bittersweet truth, but she took comfort in the fact that she could potentially project her consciousness to communicate with her family instead, if she was powerful enough.
Not seeing any point in lingering further, Samantha picked up Silas in her arms and walked through the archway with confident steps.
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The citizens of Yivesh turned in curiosity as a bright blue beam of light shot up into the sky from the Lord’s Palace, with a second following shortly after. The beams shot through the heavens, leaving a cleanly cut hole in the cloud cover above. After a few moments had passed and no other ascensions took place, they quietly returned to their task of cleaning up the damaged city. They would likely see many more ascensions in the following weeks, once all the surviving traitors were rounded up and exiled.
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Cain could see his men getting restless. They’d spent the last week hunting the plateaus with little success and had lost several people in the process, but they couldn’t leave now. Their crew was unwelcome in any of the Oases because of their reputation, and they didn’t have enough strength to survive a journey through the Great Gulfs where deadly spirit beasts were even more abundant. Morale was at an all time low. If he didn’t come up with something soon, his men might turn on him.
As he pondered the problem, two bright blue beams of light descended from the sky and landed over a ridge several miles off. He smiled.
“Looks like our luck is turning around, boys! We have some freshly ascended–why don’t we go and give them a proper greeting and introduce them to the Shattered Lands?”
His men let out a guttural roar of delight as they raised their weapons into the air.
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Hidden Quest: Cull the Weak [COMPLETE]
You have slain a cultivator of greater or equal rank, proving your strength and returning their souls to the Wheel of Reincarnation. Only the strong may ascend, and there is no place for weakness outside the safety of the World Spire. You have been rewarded with the following upgrade:
Vortex Mark (Static) -> Vortex Mark (Adaptive)
The amount of qi your Vortex Mark pulls in will now be relative to the ambient qi density.
Core Quest: Answer the Call (Part 1 of 10) [COMPLETE]
You have entered the Shattered Lands, a sprawling desert broken by deep gulfs and canyons. On the surface of the sands lies rocky plateaus, mesas, buttes, and unrelenting heat with few resources, but relative safety from prowling beasts. Within the rifts both predators and resources abound.
Core Quest: Answer the Call (Part 2 of 10) [IN-PROGRESS]
Make your way across the vast expanse to any ascension obelisk and ascend to the third floor.
Samantha took in her surroundings with wariness as she was immediately assaulted by near unbearable heat. The three of them had landed in between several tall rock formations, but with the sun beating down on them from directly overhead there was hardly any shade to be found. Ahead of them was nothing but sand, small shrubs, and the occasional outcropping of rocks for as far as the eye could see. Waves of heat rose off the dunes, making everything beyond appear hazy and warped. She could see several large, vulture-like birds circling over something in the distance but did not find any other signs of life nearby.
Harold fell to the ground in a heap beside her, panting and sweating heavily. Then, he immediately jumped up from the burning sands with a pained yelp and looked to her pitifully, “...I could craft you a very powerful elixir if you would agree to carry me until we found some shade?”
“Absolutely not.”