Cultivation is the bastard child of programming and bodybuilding—and it’s not a love-child by any means. If anything, it was born after several bouts of extremely hateful fucking.
Every technique is rooted in a concept or a path. Sounds simple right? Well, no, not really, because you need to reach out, claim and define a specific set of phenomena using the “Spirit” you develop to interface with the world, and then try to torture said elements and concept into something that you can use or direct. Oh, and if you screw up, the shit goes off inside you. Like a bomb.
So you die. Horribly.
Horribly, unless you start refining some other building blocks first. Like, if you want to spray fire at someone, you need to master the concept of stone first. So your flesh doesn’t burn. Or, if you somehow have the insight for it, somehow arrange for your flame to be non-harmful to you and nothing else.
Of course, that gets into issues like “is my fingernail me” and “what about the oxygen”? Plenty of cultivators finished themselves this way too. One missed detail. One little, tiny misunderstanding. You train your body to be hard and dense as a mountain, aligning Spirit to your flexing muscles. Then, all of a sudden, you realize that you got the mass as well, and it’s all expressed via your skin.
Opps. Flayed. Dead.
It’s a nightmare. This is why most cultivators never goddamn make it into the Fathoms. There’s no help, no guidance, no System to simplify things. Human minds are… remarkably shitty at most things other than pattern recognition. And even then, we hallucinate much more than we think.
A word of advice for you new Trespassers? Just get a Class. Preferably from the Harbinger. Concept Cores make building new Skills and earning actual Titles without needing to play the role of supercomputer.
-William Yu
59
“Cultivation”
After finishing with things in the Moongrave of Wrath, Wei visited the Bastion one more time and took a peek inside its foundations. Active incubators churned out new Collectors in slow, incremental productions. Following hellish veins of essence, he discovered Ellena and Agnesia were right—the Rift of Demons did determine what manner of spawn emerged from the incubators. Only a pity that they were effectively capped at Level 10.
Thankfully, Wei found another use for these Bastions. As he shattered their internal environments, bursting one massive crimson vein after another within the hollow chambers of the supposed forts. After breaking all the active Bastions, he finally gained an advancement in his Authority before finally leaving with the others to seek safer pastures.
Authority Advanced > 35
>[4/10] Aspect Advancements to Core Ascension
They passed into a new sanctuary and were surprised to discover that it was already in ruins. It looked like a massive blast had gone off at the center of the room, charring everything from floor to ceiling. Only the restorative springs remained undamaged. Through Wei's Omniscience, he managed to sort some bones from the soot, uncovering the likely remains of those who once dwelled within the space.
"Do you think a Knight did this?" Agnesia asked, frowning at the aftermath.
Wei shook his head. "Knights are here to recruit or capture. They seek to take us sinners as fourth disciples or useful slaves. There is no point to this. Furthermore, these sanctuaries are their property—or at least they belong to the Harbinger. I can't assume that Mepheleon would be pleased about this wanton display of destruction."
Well, the Harbinger might not care at all. Their prolonged absence was making develop concerns.
With destruction on his mind, merely looking upon the room made Wei’s Concept Core tremble, earning his attention. Upon his Eidolon, he regarded the ruined realm encapsulated by the core and felt the faintness of something accumulate within. It wasn't a Sin or any kind of Essence; the resources for his System and Class remained unchanged. But still, he was beginning to feel a weight building within his mind.
"Let us be away," Wei said. "This sanctuary is unworthy of the name. There is nothing we can do here. Rafael, chart us another route."
As they passed once more through the portal, they found themselves in a new sanctuary without anything obviously amiss. However, it took Wei scant seconds to notice an empty display case hovering just in front of seven inert pathways. It seemed like someone stole a skeleton—or perhaps a lich animated and simply left. As he spent more time in the claimed hells, he was growing accustomed to the unexpected. Anything was possible here, especially the absurd.
Thankfully, aside from the missing guide, everything else seemed to be the same as the last stable sanctuary they were in. A demonic Merchant was present as well, this one with a massive translucent hand filled with even more gold, gems, and baubles than the last one he saw. The springs at the center of the room trickled incessantly, filling the space with a flowing ambiance.
The three elves looked around at their surroundings, and already he could hear their heart rates lessening, their breaths growing slower—how easily they were lulled into the treacherous assumption of sanctuary.
"Lich," Wei called to Rafael again, "mask our presence."
Rafael gave Wei a slow nod before materializing his platonic scalpel in one hand and drawing forth a helix of drifting ciphers with the other. Wei watched the lich work using his omniscience. Strange signs, depicting various patterns contained within glowing triangles, were infused across several points of the room. They were placed along the walls, upon the floor, and the ceiling as well. When this was done, Rafael began drawing reference circuits through each one, creating what seemed to be strange spinning axes that began to spiral around the chamber slowly.
Wei's Omniscience flooded his mind with visual illusions if he tried to peer at the spear from the outside. His sight curved along the edge of the strange geometric construct. Exerting a bit more focus, he discovered he could still peer into the sanctuary from beyond, but it required concentration on his part—something that could deceive the eyes of even truly powerful entities.
What fascinated Wei more were the signs themselves and how the reference circuits passed through them. Each circuit seemed to flow into one of these signs at a specific point. Some of them touched the tip of the triangles, some of them pierced through the triangles, and some seemed to circle around a triangle. Each initiation was done in service of an effect, and Wei was still ignorant about how to properly use ciphers. His Aspect of Enlightenment pulsed within his skull as it began to flourish and grow.
He'd never been a student of the arts, only learning such things to please his mother and to fulfill the necessary components of his cultivation. With his new mental advancements, however, his mind felt clearer than ever, and focus was little more than a choice. As he observed Rafael work, Roggi opened a chat window and began speaking with some of his brothers, while Ellena conversed with the elves, asking them where they were from and about their lives before they fell into hell.
Elena spent a little while looking at Wei, much to the young master's confusion. The girl stared at him before turning to regard the ciphers, and then promptly lost interest. A few moments later, she marched up to the merchant and immediately began perusing the offerings displayed upon the flatness of its palm.
Minutes turned to hours. Rafael continued his meticulous work. The changes he made were minute and delicate. Several times, the sphere outright collapsed as the lich cursed Mephileon's name, accusing him of being a eunuch. The illusory sphere returned after a few fixes were made. Rafael cut with the scalpel slowly, proceeding with consideration and also a substantial amount of fear. Partway through, Wei summoned his trespasser's compendium and tried to find more details about ciphers within its archives. It took him little time to summon forth over 500 different pages. He found signs to reference, examined completed constructs, and noted their specific effects.
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Another benefit his increased enlightenment granted him was near-perfect memory. Previously, he had to do things by rote—looking at them over and over until they finally sank in at the cost of boredom and arduous effort. Now, even things he casually glanced at remained in his mind, at least in the near term. All this came together to grant him the faintest understanding behind the ciphers. It was something between a negotiation and a declaration. Triangular signs were all symbols denoting geometry, while the patterns within them affected how said geometry was to be expressed. Additionally, connecting these symbols from one to another caused further permutations to the eventual construct that Wei still couldn't fully grasp.
Once more, his opinion of Rafael changed. The lich was a coward, but strong in ethics and remarkable in skill. After approximately four hours of work, Rafael was finally done. Wei's Enlightenment had advanced twice.
Enlightenment Advanced > 17
[6/10] Aspect Advancements to Core Ascension
"This should keep most lesser powers from noticing us," Rafael said. "It will likely do nothing against the Harbinger, but I don't think knights will be able to perceive this place—especially since I have masked it within the spatial network as well."
Wei was surprised at that. "Truly? You didn't just separate this place visually from the outside?"
Rafael almost scoffed. "That wouldn't be enough at all. No, that is merely an additional measure in case any entity moving between the Moongraves won’t notice us from the outside."
Wei nodded in appreciation. "I'm glad I didn't break your will," the young master casually said. "When we have the time after we finish climbing the tower, you and I—there will be much we can discuss, including the potential restoration of what I broke."
Not that Wei knew how to do that. If it even was possible
No, his System said.
Ah. Well. A little hope is still good for Rafael.
Rafael regarded him for a moment before straightening his posture and taking a few steps toward Wei. The young master quirked an eyebrow at the oncoming lich who leaned in close to speak.
"I am glad," Rafael started, his voice a little strained, "that you did not break me. I suspect I know what you are capable of, what you have, and I think that I know a group of people who can help you—and a group of people who might need your help. When you found me, I said I was looking for other Trespassers. I… did not lie about this. There is someone specific I am seeking, someone I must meet if I want to have any chance of helping my world and deal with those hunting me for what I… Her name is Sarah Moonscar, and she is with the Trespasser's Lodge."
The young master heeded the lich's words, but felt that pieces were still missing from this explanation. "And you were so desperate to meet her, you were willing to turn your back on present allies?"
"No," Rafael replied immediately. "I simply thought there was no chance of success in that situation. The Knight of Lust—she was substantially stronger than us by far. Us surviving that was a fluke. A miracle."
Wei almost snarled. "That was my will defying the heavens."
As the words left Wei, he felt his Concept Core ring out from within his Eidolon. A memory returned to him, the moment of his first clash against the Knight of Lust. He recalled how his shield had saved him, how her blows had hammered him into the ceiling, leaving the sanctuary cracking before casting him down on the ground once more. Just a few hours ago, he had been fragile, feeble. His system was barely active, and he entirely lacked a class. Somehow, he couldn't stop thinking about the fractures he had left upon the ceiling of the sanctuary.
Suddenly, something left him. It was like an aura—so much more. More akin to a projected presence that blanketed itself across an entire area. Everyone felt it. Not only Wei, the others jolted as if stumbling from a blast of heavy wind. But it was more than that.
A chipped section of Agnesia’s bone blade grew into a full fracture, spreading down the surface of the weapon. The girl frowned, the same effect befalling Roggi as well. Parts of his body, composed of unstable waste, began breaking at a rapid pace. Chunks of debris shattered within his festering wings, showering the ground with skipping pieces of shrapnel. Mara, one of the elves, cried out as his bow suddenly snapped in half. And finally, a small crater formed in the ceiling above—the same kind of crater Wei had made upon being flung by the Knight of Lust.
As everyone recovered, they stared at the young master—elves in shock, Roggi in annoyance, and Elena with concern. Wei's attention wasn't on them, however, as the fullness of his omniscience settled on the mysterious potential hidden within his weapon. The Concept Core of Destruction no longer resonated as it had before. He wasn't sure why it had triggered with his thoughts, but he was quite certain about what had charged it. As they passed through the destroyed sanctuary earlier, his Omniscience had taken in every detail within the room. Those memories, those experiences, had fueled the Concept Core.
Wei looked his broken crescent up and down with a slight grin. "Rafael, is your construct still holding?"
"Yes," the lich replied. "Is there something wrong with your weapon?"
"No. No, it's simply… expressing itself." Wei took a moment to consider this newfound power. "Now, I'm going to spend some time understanding what my Class Tier Ascension has granted me. Do not bother me unless there is an emergency while I am in cultivation."
With that said, Wei chose a corner of the room and knelt down, focusing the entirety of his senses upon the Concept Core. His Omniscience could still register the rest of the group in the backdrop, revealing every moment they stared at him, every word they exchanged. But that didn't matter. Frankly, he preferred it this way. It would ensure that nothing remained beyond his notice and that no one attempted to betray him.
However, they became items of tertiary notice. Before he did anything, he drew the Knight of Lust out of his inventory. It was only then that he remembered he still had three more individuals with him—the Knight of Lust's slaves.
Wei's lips curled as he considered what to do with them. The dragoness drew in ragged gasps, imploring Wei to kill her, begging to feel something—anything—again. The young master decided that the release of the slaves could wait, at least until he fulfilled his own curiosity and completed a period of cultivation. Who knew when Mepheleon might return, or when the next ambush might befall them? From the information of the slaves, they didn't seem particularly powerful, and Wei had no interest in collecting three more wastes like the elves. He had done enough karmic charity for one day.
It was time to reap some dividends.
"Speak nothing to me unless I demand it of you," Wei said to the Knight.
At once, she fell silent, her ruined will allowing his statement to be an order. She whimpered a few more times but did as he asked. Others gazed at her—Ellena with an increased expression of pity and horror, the elves correspondingly terrified. But that was to be expected with them.
Slowly, Wei turned his attention upon his Concept Core and found nothing different about the realm it contained. It was still a small, spherical world of five kilometers, engulfed by constant destruction. The single patch of stability, showcasing Wei hovering above an orc forced into suicide, remained unchanged. Despite this, Wei was certain that the effect he triggered just now was sourced directly from the Concept Core.
With his System and Class, his progression of power was contingent upon foes defeated, feats performed, and choices made. Everything was streamlined and simplified, with his improvements requiring little direct input from the young master himself. Cultivation, however, was all about shaping the world's elements and effects, and condensing them within one's spirit. This process required much meditation and comprehension. For even using cultivation to enhance one's speed and strength required the practitioner to have experience of the concepts and specific instances or memories to draw on.
Memories. That might just be what triggered the presence from the Concept Core.
However, Wei also noted another peculiar detail. The sanctuary that was destroyed—the exact recollections he had of that scene—even though he and the rest of the group had just passed through the other room, he found the details slipping from him now. As if it had happened far in the past or was somehow spent.
"Knight," Wei said, drawing the Knight of Lust's attention. "The Concept Cores. It is directed by memories, isn't it?"
He didn't ask her directly, for he wanted to establish a theory of his own. This would allow him to locate mistakes in his thinking, would allow him to improve in more ways than just taking straight answers.
"Yes," the Knight of Lust hissed. "The Concept Core is shaped by your experiences. You have to shake them, focus on them. If your mind just drifts, or you do things without intent, the core will remain inactive. You cannot just will something. The core is an idea. An idea related to phenomena."
Listening to the Knight's words, Wei triggered Lesser Hollow Mind to augment his meditation. Once more, he focused on his Concept Core of Destruction. But this time, he didn't just focus on the Concept Core. He recalled major instances of devastation he had faced, especially recently. Memories passed through him—him channeling the Heart of Calamity, his storms rolling across the land, the earth sundering, waves crashing down. He remembered the almost invisible hand of the market slamming an archer into paste.
And finally, Wei shuddered as he forced himself to think of the moment—the moment the Black Tower, this very tower, had plunged down into the atmosphere of his world, splitting clean through the branches of Evernest, devastating its continents, and finally obliterating the entire realm with its fell powers.
Wei thought of all these things in tandem with the Concept Core. And once more, a new resonance triggered. Wei saw recreations of these scenes materialize within the realm of the Concept Core. However, as the memories materialized within the Concept Core, the young master felt a sudden emptiness expand within his mind. More than emptiness, however, he was beginning to feel cold. As all the memories he called upon began disintegrating within his awareness, a worse spiritual ache formed inside of him as Wei felt something collapse deep within.
Opening his eyes, he dismissed Lesser Hollow Mind and stopped thinking about destruction entirely. However, the wrongness only grew, and the young master suddenly felt pain. A flood of trauma poured through his being as a system message made his heart drop even more.
Aspect of (Intent) calculated!
Intent Decreased 1649 < 1648 < 1647
To Wei's horror, his Intent, previously incalculable, was now rapidly dropping.