Power. The power to leap small building with a single bound and glide through the air. The feeling of wind flowing through his hair as he bounded 50 meters off the ground and then proceeded to glide over and then between the trees, just for the joy of doing so. Then it all ended abruptly when his 6 AM morning alarm went off.
Damn... At least it was a nice dream. What day is it ?... Maik checks his phone. Sunday. I can totally sleep in for another hour... Gahhh !
Usually Magus and Saline should still be in his parents bed room until they were let out to go potty but apparently they had been let out early and Maik hadn't noticed when they came down the stairs. Now the 2 German shepherds were excitedly licking at Maik's face, tails wagging with eager anticipation for lovies and attention, probably to be let out as well.
Maik wasn't bothered in the slighted, just as happy to pet the fluffy puppies as they were to receive the affection. "Gahhh... Alright, alright. Yes, Good morning, I'm happy to see you too."
Maik's mother, Andrea, called down from the top of the stairs. "Maik ! Can you let them out to go potty ? Thanks."
The dogs went over to try their luck with Derek but he really wasn't one for puppy kisses, rolling away to covering his head, blocking their attempts to lick him. They quickly gave up when Maik opened the door to let them out. After that Maik set about his morning routine, which usually would have started with hydration and then stretching but then he remembered the new skill. He opened his status screen with a mental double tap, and checked.
Name : Maik Alphonse Daley
Species : Tier 1 / Human / H grade
Race : Celtic / Germanic
Cultivation level : 1
Age : 32
Gender : Male
Height : 190 centimeters
Weight : 78 Kilograms
Strength : 91
Flexibility : 99
Dexterity : 110
Endurance : 68 = [680 / 680]
Durability : 82
Intelligence : 134
Smarts : 157
Wisdom : 113
Perception : 43
Charisma : 106
Chi : 148 = [1480 / 148]
aura : 135
Tier 1 skills
...................
Tier 2 skills
Fundamental Chi control - Intermediate
...................
Tier 3 skills
Engineering - Advanced
Electromagnetic theory - Experienced
physics - Effective
Chemistry - Intermediate
Chi manipulation - Capable
Tier 4 skills
Chi cultivation - Beginner
Chi projection - Beginner
Okay. So the new skill is there. Hmmmm. Given the description I would have to say that I got it from projecting my chi into the screen. But I did that the day before yesterday before bed. Maybe I hadn't done it enough ? I'll need to run some experiments. For now, lets try something.... No. Priority is gaining the remedial citizenship and then I should have access to all kinds of new information.
Thus Maik went ahead and bumped half of his available chi into the systems deposit screen, adding another 8 to his contributions. Then he started his morning stretches and work out. Derek performed some of his own but it was a large room so they were both able to stay out of each others way.
The stretching and work out only lasted about 25-30 minutes but that was plenty to passively recover all the Chi he had spent and then some. So Maik used the new chi projection skill to expend another 80 chi, contributing the measly 8 to the contribution total.
By this point people were starting to move around but Maik was on a mission. He used the PS4 to pull up You-tube and started playing some meditation music aiming to settle in for another session of cultivation. To his surprise the process was noticeable easier, the energy was flowing any faster but it was just easier to form and then maintain the pattern of swirl, draw, spiral, pull, condense and then feed into the circulation cycle.
Maik summoned the screen once he know the process was good and stable, then started pushing the chi into the screen. This continued, for a time, Maik lost track of such things as he entered the trance like state and became one with the energy, the power of the universe.
At some point the music stopped but he kept going hardly even noticing when the background melody faded away. Then it was replaced by another and a small part of Maik realized that He had lasted the full hour. Memory of the previous days follow up cultivation sessions being much weaker came to mind and he decided to not push all the way to his limit in the very first session today.
When he came out of meditation Maik found that he had indeed made it past the 1 hour mark when he looked at his total contribution.
656 of 1,400 towards Tier 1 rewards.
It was about 8 O'clock at that point and upon asking around he found that nobody had disturbed him because the others were taking the time to practice the methods he had described for cultivating. They hadn't been able to keep at it for as long as Maik had sense they had yet to develop the skill but Mitch was certain that he was getting there. Derek and Maverick were less certain and had questions.
The other members of the family with chi skill backgrounds commented on their own gains Neil and Mitch's mate Terra reporting having leveled the Fundamental chi control skill last night. The others without that background were still working to gaining even that skill and were intently following the conversation to gleam any tidbits that would help them advance while peppering in their own questions.
Michael, Maik's father, brought everyone attention back to the scheduled work for the day. Work vans needed to be cleaned out and washed, garbage needed to be taken to the green box, the yard needed to be policed, floors needed to be vacuumed, animals needed to be fed and all the other things that came with maintaining a family manor on a weekly basis.
Tasks were divided up soon enough. They had been gathering at the family manor most every Sunday for years so everyone, more of less, knew what their usual task was. It was uncommon for all of them to be there at the same time unless it was a holiday. A couple of them were also injured so there was some shuffling.
Michael took the two younger boys out with him to pick up sticks when they said they didn't want to help clean the house. Everybody helped at the Daley manor, unless you were injured, like Ian and Mitch were. Michael was driving a riding lawn mower with a trailer attached so that they could load up any sticks littering the ground before taking the load back to the fire pit for burning. They had many trees and fallen limbs were a constant chore for maintaining the property.
Maik, Neil, Maverick and Derek started working on their vans. There was a scrap metal area, a fenced off spot where they tossed old and broken appliance parts for the scrap guy to come pick up once every couple months, but only one van could unload at a time. Next to the scrap area was the burn barrel for the cardboard and there were enough equipment that 2 people could wash their vans at the same time.
They formed a sort of assembly line where they swapped positions around the parking lot, moving from exterior cleaning to, unloading parts, to burning boxes and then bagging none burnables, like plastic and styrofoam, before cleaning the interior. A technicians van was his work area and his office so it was important to keep it clean, organized and stocked. Speaking of Maik needed in slip into the parts room to restock a few essentials.
All the while Maik had kept track of his Chi recovery and had even set a timer on his phone. Every 15 minutes he would pause in his work to use up another 80 Chi for a pitiful 8 chi contribution. They loaded up the truck with the garbage and hauled it off the the green box which for fortunately just a roughly 30 minute round trip.
After the garbage they helped with the yard. Michael moved to operating the tractor, Maik and Derek helping attaching the bush hog so that he could get the majority of the mowing done. Neil took over the riding mower with the two kids while Maik, Derek and Maverick fired up the second riding mower to pull the second trailer and they really got going on those fallen tree limbs.
They fed and watered the chickens, emptied and cleaned the dogs little swimming / bathing pool before giving the puppies a bath. Magus and Saline were usually good about it but the other 3 were outside dogs for a reason and they were fussy about bath time, as usual.
The fire was lit and the gathered sticks were being burned while the 2 weed whackers were fired up. The side walks and the back porch were being swept. Out door chair cushions had the sand knocked out of them and another tree had fallen back in the woods over the past week that had to be chopped up. They had enough axes for everyone and Made quick of the task.
Working together they managed to finish all the yard chores by lunch time, even with the frequent stops to push chi into the contributions screen. Likewise, those who had gone about the indoor tasks had finished their chores as well and a massive lunch spread was brought out. All the usual condiments and add ons you would expect on a good hot dog. Little spears were made using sticks so that everyone could roast their own hot dogs over the fire. Waist not, want not.
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There was even a ceramic pot, meant to be used in a crock pot, with chili in it siting beside the fire to heat up so they could have chili dogs. They had put a lot of work into making this plot of land into what it was and it was days like this when they got to enjoy it. But eventually the gathered fuel for the fire ran out and the finished lunch as much because they had eaten their fill as because he mosquitoes were starting to get at them now that the fire had died down.
With that the weekly chores were officially done. This would usually have meant mass gaming in the living room and kitchen, with both board games and cooperative multi player games on the X box or play station.
The children certainly did do those things but Maik and the other adults with any chi background were far more focused on advancing their chi skills and contribution score. First Maik lead them through each step of activating and then processing the cultivation technique had had developed, especially important for Ian and Max, as they neither hand any background in chi use, nor had they gotten the tutorial.
"Maintain the breath as well as you can. You'll feel your muscles tense up as you direct the chi flow and that fine, at first. We'll work on moving the energy without involving your physical muscles later. Think of it like bending actually. You know. Like from avatar the air bender."
Neither of them was having a good time of it but they claimed to be making progress. Maik certainly hoped that was the case because he really couldn't tell and didn't really know how to unless he tired some things that would involve expending more of his Chi, a precious resource given how much of it was being taxed by those control matrix's.
Maik himself went thought another round of deep cultivation and actually managed the full hour for the second time but it was a near thing and he could tell that he had pushed his limit that time. Still, with all the independent contributions throughout the day and the cultivation session he had mad some real progress.
976 of 1,400 towards Tier 1 rewards.
Mitch claimed that his recover rate had actually gone up some during his attempt at cultivation after lunch, but he still didn't have the skill listed so they couldn't be sure. Everyone's chi muscles were a bit warn out after that so the participated in some gaming, even if they were still setting the timers to keep up with contributions.
The two most played games were this one called Streets of Rouge where Somebody kept playing the zombie and constantly trying to start a mass zombie out break every level. the other one that was really popular was called Lovers in dangerous spacetime. Its not what it sounds like. The 4 players had to pilot a space ship exploring strange new levels, fighting and killing strange new hostile creatures. All in the name of love baby. Just, never let Max pilot the ship. Hes not a good Captain. Great with a wrecking ball turret though.
Michael wasn't much for actually playing the video games so he busied himself with helping Andrea, his wife and Maik's mother, make dinner. Meat loaf, mash potatoes, gravy and green beans. They sat down to another movie during dinner. Michael having quite the collection, but again it was one that Maik had seen. So as soon as his meal was finished he set about dropping into meditation to cultivate some more. It was a super hero flick Maik had already seen so again he was able to tune it out enough to get started.
The difference was in how much easier it was to maintain the process this time. Even with the distractions Maik was still able to maintain the pretty decent efficiency and he actually managed to maintain his cultivation throughout the whole movie.
1,290 of 1,400 towards Tier 1 rewards.
He was close now. So close he could taste it. Maik still waited until after his shower and another round of discussion where the family discussed various jobs they had experienced over the week. Hearing Neil talk about how one of his customers had been a known New York mobster back in the day and how the guy had subtly threatened Neil that their would be 'consequences' if Neil was unable to make good on his promises to fix the refrigerator. It had almost made it seem like everything was still normal and Maik actually forgot about how close he was to unlocking the Tier 1 rewards there for a minute.
After his evening shower was when Maik decided to make the final push. Nobody discouraged him, they were curious too. He had really pushed it during the movie though and didn't make it further than about 39 minutes. Still with the few extra smaller contributions before and after the shower, it was enough.
1,412 of 1,400 towards Tier 1 rewards.
He made it. Good thing too as Maik was exhausted from the effort. There was no worry that he would get a good nights sleep when he laid his head down. The usual period of darkness passed, just as he always expected. It wasn't until he transitioned to dreamscape that found himself once more before the notification screen.
1,412 of 1,400 towards Tier 1 rewards.
Active Quest : Avoid the apocalypse.
Type : Open
Duration : Until Calsifus 5-A, local designation Moon, impacts Calsifus 5, local designation Earth.
Estimated time until failure : 30 days 21 hours to point of no return.
Objective : Contribute a collective total of 4.6816e+13 Joules of energy in the form of Chi to the stability array aboard the Vassaroth through this interface.
Penalties for failure : Calsifus 5-A, local designation Moon, will impact Calsifus 5, local designation Earth, resulting in the extermination of all life on the surface.
Rewards : Varies - Dependent upon contribution.
Tier 1 : Contribute at least 1,400 calories of Chi. - Gain access to the newly integrated system between the digital entities of Calsifus 5 and Planer Portal management matrix. A monthly renewal fee of 1,000 calories of Chi will apply after the first month.
Tier 2 : Contribute at least 2,100 Calories of Chi - Gain access to the newly integrated system between the digital entities of Calsifus 5 and Planer Portal management matrix as a Prime member. Remedial citizenship within the Fifth Imperial congregate. Tutorials in the use of Chi skills. A monthly renewal fee of 1,400 calories of Chi will apply after the first month.
Tier 3 : Contribute at least 3,000 calories of Chi - Gain access to the newly integrated system between the digital entities of Calsifus 5 and Planer Portal management matrix as a VIP member. Remedial citizenship within the Fifth Imperial congregate. Tutorials in the use of Chi skills. Access to the Chi skill store. Access to advance citizenship status. Access to system titles withing the purview of the system. A monthly renewal fee of 1,800 calories of Chi will apply after the first month.
Tier 1 rewards achieved.
Access to global Magitch network : Granted
Access to EXP : Granted
Access to basic skill guidance system : Granted
Access to base leveling system : Granted
Access to class leveling system : Denied
Access to advance features : Denied
Access to global information archives : Denied
You have unused EXP.
Calculating EXP.
Tier 2 skill : Fundamental Chi control : Advanced
Intermediate : level 4 : 1,483 / 2,025
XP Earned : 946
Level up
Intermediate : level 5 : 2,429 / 3,038
EXP Acquired : 202
Backlogged EXP Detected : 135
Tier 3 skill : Chi manipulation : Advanced
Capable : level 4 : 1,392 / 2,025
XP Earned : 946
Level up
Capable : level 5 : 2,338 / 3,038
EXP Acquired : 202
Backlogged EXP Detected : 135
Tier 4 skill : Chi cultivation : Advanced
Beginner : Level 3 : 641 / 900
XP Earned : 658
Level up
Beginner : Level 4 : 1,299 / 1,350
EXP Acquired : 90
Backlogged EXP Detected : 100
Tier 4 skill : Chi projection : Acquired
Beginner : level 1 : 0 / 400
XP Earned : 946
Level up
Level up
Level up
Beginner : level 4 : 946 / 1,350
Total EXP (Entity Experience Points) Acquired : 1,054
Entity Level up : Human / H grade / Tier 1 : Level 2
You now have 40 stat points to allocate.
Entity Level up : Human / H grade / Tier 1 : Level 3
You now have 80 stat points to allocate.
Entity Level up : Human / H grade / Tier 1 : Level 4
You now have 120 stat points to allocate.
Entity Level up : Human / H grade / Tier 1 : Level 5
You now have 160 stat points to allocate.
You have until the end of the next billing cycle to allocate stat points.
Failure to allocate will result in loos of excess EXP.