You have finished a complete cultivation session with the Supreme Ruler cultivation technique with a seventy percent proficiency. You have gained 102 points of astral energy.
Congratulations! You have reached level 2 (Early Skin Tempering). +1 to all stats, +1 free stat point.
After Elijah was made chief, all of the leaders took turns warning him and congratulating him. After a few minutes passed, most people left to take care of their responsibilities. A few elders stayed to question the new people that came to the village and Elder Jeb offered to show Elijah around the village while they did so. Elijah didn’t think it was necessary for him to listen in, so he agreed.
Before they began the tour, Elijah asked to practice his cultivation technique again. After Elder Jeb agreed, Elijah planned to complete two cultivation session so he could reach the second level. The first time Elijah completed a cultivation session he did so with a sixty percent proficiency, and he gained ninety-six points of astral energy.
Status
Name: Eli
Cultivation Level: 2
Energy: 378/600
Race: Human
Cultivation Technique: Supreme Ruler 1, 28%
Specialty:
Ruler 11, 78%
Job: Chief 1, 0%
Health: 260/260
Stamina: 260/260
Mental: 260/260
HR: 0.2/min
SR: 5.2/min
MR: 1.3/min
Attack: 15
Defense: 15
Stats
Strength: 26
Intelligence: 26
Dexterity: 26
Wisdom: 26
Endurance: 26
Perception: 26
Vitality: 26
Willpower: 26
Free stat points: 2
Talents:
Identify, Supreme Will
Cultivation Skills
Passive: Supreme Combat (I)
Active: Supreme Power (I)
Specialty Skills
Passive: Ruler’s Presence (I)
Active: Ruler’s Strength (I)
Ruler’s Defense (I)
Job Skills
Passive: None
Active: Heal Minor Wounds (I)
Titles:
Wilderness Survivor (T), Cultivation Technique Creator
Elijah took a few seconds to admire his growth and think about what he should do next. He considered putting his free stat points into intelligence or endurance, but he decided to save them for later. Next, Elijah considered whether or not he should continue cultivating.
When Elijah gained a level, he was able to recover all of his energy. It was unexpected since his future self didn’t tell him about it, but Elijah didn’t think it was a big deal. Instead, he focused on the fact that his ability to recover energy meant that he could spend a lot more time cultivating than he originally thought.
“Your cultivation increased?” Elder Jeb asked.
“Yeah. I think I’m going to continue cultivating.”
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“You can still keep going?”
“Yup,” Zane flashed Elder Jeb a grin. “I hope you don’t mind waiting for me a little longer.”
“No, please continue. You should always prioritize your own cultivation first.”
You have finished a complete cultivation session with the Supreme Ruler cultivation technique with an eighty percent proficiency. You have gained 108 points of astral energy.
You have finished a complete cultivation session with the Supreme Ruler cultivation technique with an eighty five percent proficiency. You have gained 111 points of astral energy.
You have finished a complete cultivation session with the Supreme Ruler cultivation technique with an eighty percent proficiency. You have gained 108 points of astral energy.
Congratulations! You have reached level 3 (Mid Skin Tempering). +1 to all stats, +1 free stat point
Between each cultivation session, Elijah took time to think about the movements he performed. During the next cultivation session, he would make adjustments, allowing his proficiency to go up and the amount of astral energy he gained to increase. Elijah’s proficiency decreased on the third cultivation session because he made some mistake and because he felt tired from repeated usage of his cultivation technique.
You have finished a complete cultivation session with the Supreme Ruler cultivation technique with a ninety percent proficiency. You have gained 114 points of astral energy.
You have finished a complete cultivation session with…
You have…
Congratulations! You have reached level 4 (Late Skin Tempering). +1 to all stats, +1 free stat point
Three more cultivation sessions passed, and Elijah gained another level. Every cultivation session Elijah directed astral energy into his skin and after every level up he was able to reap the rewards. When Elijah leveled up it felt like his skin was being nourished in the most perfect way possible,
When the nourishment was complete, Elijah felt his body become stronger and his mind become sharper. The feeling was extremely addictive, and Elijah was eager to continue cultivating. Unfortunately, a message appeared in front of him and stopped him in his tracks.
You have rapidly increased your cultivation or gained several levels over a short period of time. It is recommended that you stop cultivating for the next two hours.
Warning! If you continue to cultivate without rest, it can have several negative effects.
The message was unexpected, and it felt different from the normal notifications he received. To Elijah it felt like he was given a message from a real person instead of a machine. Elijah paid extra attention to the warning part of the message.
“You’re done?” Elder Jeb asked when he saw Elijah turn to look at him.
“Yup, I’m done for now.”
“It looks like even the amazing cultivation technique you use has some limitations.”
Elijah gave Elder Jeb a smile and didn’t try to clarify the situation. Instead, Elijah asked if they could continue the tour. Elder Jeb happily agreed and began guiding him around the village introducing him to different people and explained the four major areas of the village.
The village had people in charge of farming, crafting, hunting, and teaching. Farmers took care of the crops and the few medical herbs the village grew. Crafters built weapons, equipment, farming tools, furniture, and dealt with other items the village needed. Hunters gathered rare herbs and hunted animals. Teachers were in charge of educating the children in the village.
Carrying out these tasks was important for maintaining and developing the village. Elijah took time to speak with the different people in each area. It was important for a leader to be familiar with the people that followed him, but that wasn’t the only reason Elijah took time to interact with them.
Quest: Convincing the Villagers
Description: After you became the new chief, the villagers have become restless. The villagers are doubtful about your ability to lead them and worried about the future of the village. Convince seventy percent of the villagers that you are a capable chief they can put their trust in. Until then, you are unable to gain experience in the chief job. Current percentage: 45%
Rewards: Gain one level in the chief job and one passive ability
Penalties: None
Elijah received the Convincing the Villagers quest a few moments after he was made chief. Elder Jeb and the other leaders told him that everyone was made aware of him becoming the new chief the moment he accepted the position. Elijah was unhappy that he wouldn’t be able to gain experience until he won the hearts of villagers. However, he wasn’t daunted by the challenge he was presented with.
Convincing the Villagers was easier than Elijah expected it would be. Simply hearing Elder Jeb calmly explain the situation was enough to convince a portion of the villagers Elijah would be a good chief. Also, it was helpful that Elijah had a skill capable of wowing the villagers.
Keeping Rulers Presence active helped Elijah win over most of the villagers he met. When Elder Jeb and Elijah spoke to a group of villagers, a few of them accepted Elijah as chief faster than the others. Next, they excitedly told the other villagers about the buff they received and convinced them to greet Elijah as the new chief. Elijah was happy to see that his quest was progressing smoothly. However, that happiness quickly faded when he recalled his second quest.
Quest: Awaken the Core
Description: Every territory has a core. The core for your village is currently in an unweakened state. To awaken the core and truly take control of your village, provide it with astral energy. Astral Energy 0/100,000
Rewards: Unique
Penalties: Unable to grow your village
In addition to the Convincing the Villagers quest Elijah was given the Awaken the Core quest. After Elijah read the second quest he began to doubt if he really got lucky. He was giving the chief job, but he wasn’t really a chief yet. He now had a village to rule over, but it wasn’t a proper village yet. On top of everything, there was an army of goblins that would probably attack the village sometime in the near future.
“Things could definitely be better.” Elijah muttered.
“What did you say?” Elder Jeb asked.
“I wanted to ask if you knew about the core of the village.”
“I was wondering when you would ask me about that. I’m sure you’ve already received the Awaken the Core quest, right?”
“Yes, any tips?”
“Not much. I did figure out that the village core could absorb astral energy of the living beasts sacrificed in front of it. However, that was the only trick I figured out. The only other thing you can do is slowly guide astral energy into the village core.”
Elijah frowned. “Did sacrificing living beasts cause any negative effects?”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. Maybe the aura of the core seemed different after you started sacrificing living beasts.”
Elder Jeb paused for a few seconds to think about what Elijah said. “No. The only change was the core had more astral energy. If you want, we can go to the core, and I can show you how it’s done.”
Elijah agreed and followed Elder Jeb to the core. As they walked Elijah considered whether or not he would sacrifice living beasts to the core. He knew the negative effects of absorbing the astral energy of the people and beast he killed. However, he didn’t have any information about providing a village core with astral energy and he didn’t know what would happen if he took shortcuts.
Perhaps nothing would happen. It was likely that the ability to absorb energy was a function to make the game better. After all, it would be boring for a person to stay in one area guiding astral energy into the core. However, it could be a test and absorbing astral energy from living things could lead to failure.
As Elijah was lost in thought he continued following Elder Jeb to the core. The core was at the center of the territory, but it wasn’t at the center of the village. Elijah and Elder Jeb walked away from the crop fields, passed several buildings and stopped at a defensive wall opposite of the one he entered from the night before. A short distance from the wall was the core.
The core was a stone sphere connected to a stone pillar. The sphere was at Elijah’s eye level and had a gray color that matched the pillar it was on. Elijah didn’t sense anything unusual from the core. There was no mystical connection or any indication that there was something special about it. However, its appearance was very surprising to Elijah.
“Doesn’t this look like the pillar in the training area?”
“Really? I don’t think so.” Elder Jeb responded.
“You really don’t see the similarities?”
Elder Jeb shook his head. Elijah realized that Either Elder Jeb was playing a prank on him, or the game was interfering with his responses. Although Elder Jeb seemed like a real person, he was still a character in the game and his actions and thoughts would constantly be influenced by the game.
“Shall we begin the sacrifice?”
“No. I think I’ll hold off on sacrificing anything for now.”
Elder Jeb’s inability to see the obvious caused Elijah to slow down and think. Although he was playing a game the game would have very real effects on his real life and future. Making a poor hasty decision right now could make him suffer in the future. For now, he would play things safe and slowly feed astral energy to the core.