Chapter 24
1
“I think you’re over complicating things.” Emma said.
She was sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast. She had a fork in one hand, dangerously brandishing a bite of egg in John’s direction. In the other hand was her personal notebook, open for inspection.
“How so?” John asked as he too ate his fill.
“You said you could copy spirit patterns by simulating what you find there, but there is an easier way.”
“And what way is that?” John asked.
“Neutralization. It shares some similarities with Simulation. The difference is that instead of bringing yourself into harmony with whatever you’re trying to replicate, the goal is to bring your target into a neutral state. Then it would be receptive to your attempts to master it.”
“Isn’t that just a more complicated method to accomplish the same thing? How is that simplifying anything?”
“I’m working with secondhand knowledge here, but didn’t you say genes lose potency if you consume too many of the same kind?”
“Yes. They stop giving advancements after half a dozen or so. Why?”
“I’m just postulating here. But what if you could change the nature of the gene so that didn’t happen anymore?”
“Emma, it’s a little more complicated than that,” John said dismissively.
“No, I don’t think it is,” Emma said excitedly.
“Explain,” John commanded.
“Well, if you study the fundamental aspects of each branch, as you should, you get the sense that each branch is an incomplete tool. Any one aspect of the Cultivation has great benefits but also huge drawbacks. I believe that one of the benefits of Neutralization is that it’ll let you erase or at least cover anything that gives your target identity.”
“Identity?” John asked skeptically.
“Yes. I’m sure you’ve noticed that we all have our own unique signature.”
“I have,” John said.
“Well, if you were able to wipe away what made me different from you, how do you think that would affect me?”
“It would make us identical. But that sounds way beyond anything I could manage.”
“Maybe right now. But we’re not talking about humans, are we? You just need to figure out how to shut down the factors that make repeated gene consumption impotent.”
“What you’re talking about is rewriting the rules that govern the Garden. I don’t think anything I can do could accomplish that. But still, you did give me an idea of how I might solve a problem I’ve been thinking about.”
“We won’t know until you try. Let me know how it works out. You’re our only means of testing any of my theories.”
“I will. There are a few things I want to try out now that it’s a bit easier to comprehend what’s actually happening. I can’t believe you have such a great grasp of it without a single gene. When your counts start going up, I expect you’ll surpass me.”
“I wouldn’t count on that.” Emma said modestly.
“I would. You and I are the first to ever look at that scroll. The fact that I received it on a technicality is the greatest stroke of fortune I’ve had. Maybe the greatest fortune anyone has had. I can’t imagine what the trial to earn a scroll like this would even look like. Undoubtedly, it’s beyond anything us mortals are capable of surpassing.”
“It’s beyond learning by instinct, for sure,” Emma said, “but luckily we can learn by instruction.”
“Even that is a task only for the most determined mind I’ve ever seen.” John said.
“You talking about me?” Emma asked.
“Who else could actually make sense of it? I certainly couldn’t until you organized it all for me.”
“So… I’m better than you?” Emma asked.
“You have more free time, at least.”
“Morning, kids,” Jack said as he entered the room.
His kids both greeted him as he went straight for the coffee before finding his way to the table. He started piling a plate up with eggs and sausages, ignoring the rolls in front of him. When he had an adequate breakfast of protein assembled, he turned to John.
“Will you be ready to go in an hour?”
“I’m ready now,” John said, nodding.
“Don’t get ahead of me, son. A man’s gotta have his priorities,” Jack said as he stuffed bite after bite into his mouth.
*
“So, tell me about the Garden,” Jack said as they rode to the nearest transition station.
“What about it?” John asked.
“Tell me what you’ve learned. What’s up with this survival trial we just won?”
“I don’t know. There seems to be a lot of weird quirks like that. Like the shuffle feature. It’s like the Garden has a mind of its own.”
“How do you figure?”
“Isn’t it weird that you found an abandoned base right after escaping from another?”
“I think it would have been weird no matter the circumstances. But yeah, I guess.”
“It was a brand-new base. The Garden made it for you to find.”
“Come on, John. That seems a bit far fetched.”
“It does, doesn’t it? You know what else is far fetched?”
“What’s that?” Jack asked, humor in his voice.
“When I got shuffled, the second person in our family to be shuffled by the way, I was taken to a place in the middle of nowhere. I wondered aimlessly until I ran into a pack of raptors, yes, actual dinosaurs. They chased me down a ravine until I found a tower.”
John could tell that his father was already bursting with questions. He held up a hand to forestall them. He hadn’t even made it to the good part.
“I run up to this tower, and all the raptors just leave me alone. They wouldn’t come anywhere near it. I went inside, and… I’m not really sure how to explain it. I met someone. She claimed to be a god. Like an actual god. Divine power, limitless knowledge, the whole thing. Now, this is the best part, stop me when it gets far fetched.”
Jack was staring at his son with an incredulous expression already. He remained silent as John went on.
“So, I met this person claiming to be a god. Not the god but a god. Her name was… Alikeelifice! That was what it was! She called herself the Moment Mistress. Sounded kind of S&M to me, but I wasn’t about to tell her that. So, she invites me in for lunch and tells me she is a god that has the ability to answer any question I have as long as I can pay the price. What is the price you ask? Conveniently, I could pay with my progression. That seemed like the most efficient way to pay anyway. There was an exchange rate that didn’t seem worth it for anything else. Anyway, I decided to test her knowledge. I asked her how to find you, and boy did it cost me. But she gave me the best way to get to you. So that’s what I did. It wasn’t easy, and I definitely could have died several times in the attempt, but I finished my shuffle. My rewards included a new ability that let me enter someone else’s trial. And that’s how I found you.”
Jack was unable to think of anything suitable to say. He had wondered how John was able to find him, but he had never suspected the intervention of a supposed god. Though like his son, he was skeptical of the authenticity of that particular claim.
“So, tell me dad. What is more far fetched? Everything I just told you, or a world we don’t understand making an extra city?”
“I guess you do have a point. But what makes you think it was made for us?”
“I think it was made for you. Alongside your shuffle. It was an option for completing your trial created in the form of another trial.”
“Why would the Garden do that? There’s no way I could have survived without you there.”
“I don’t know. Maybe I was always supposed to be there. Maybe it would have been different if I wasn’t there. I don’t have the answers. But I do know one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“You asked me what I’ve learned about the Garden.”
“Yeah?”
“One thing I’ve learned is that it operates on a risk/reward curve.”
“Meaning?”
“The greater your struggle, the more handsome the reward for surviving it.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. I went ahead and had my suspicions confirmed when talking to the pretty lady in the tower. The souls we get and the specific instances we get them in are all but planned by the Garden. I spent three days in a tree while an Advanced Lunar Stag tried to knock me out of it. Through sheer luck, something else came along to handle it. But I was able to get the last hit. That’s how I got this,” John said as the bow appeared in his hands.
“Your first hunt,” Jack said in amazement.
“It was the only thing that gave me the chance to progress like I have been. And it happened because I was in an impossible situation and came out alive.”
“So, you’re saying that the Garden gave me the chance to attempt an impossible situation?”
“Yes,” John said.
“And we ended up sandwiching a gorilla on the final scoreboard?”
“Yes.”
“So, you’re saying?”
“That whatever we get as a prize should be pretty freaking awesome, yeah.”
2
As John and his father arrived in Obsidian Base, John was inundated with notifications. John had emerged from a transition pad in an adjacent room to Jack. Judging by his prolonged stay within his room, John’s father had his own list of updates to parse. John turned his attention to the voice in his head.
“Congratulations! Obsidian Base has collected all genes left by slain combatants! All collected genes have been added to your vault!”
“Congratulations! You have one new devoted follower!”
“Attention! You have four thousand three hundred and fifty-seven new requests to follow!”
“Warning! Obsidian Base is under populated. Risk of takeover by hostile entities is high.”
“Attention! The grace period for prize generation has ended!”
“Congratulations! You have received Roaming Base Token!”
“Attention! You have received a challenge to your leadership. Respond within the next seventy-two hours to avoid automatic forfeit of leadership.”
John took a moment to process the plethora of information he had received. He didn’t know what to focus on first. He started by inspecting the prize that fell into his unsuspecting hand as he read of its existence.
The Roaming Base Token had an identical image on both faces of the coin. It showed what was clearly a distanced view of a base. The base was stretched to one side, like it was being blown by a strong wind. Small streaks of light trailed the bent buildings, seeming to indicate a great movement.
“Hm,” John said with interest.
Putting the token away, John addressed the other notifications he received. He had a devoted follower, as well as several thousand requests to follow. He had no idea how to address those requests, nor who his current follower was.
He suspected that it could be his father, but almost the same time he had the thought, a notification came through.
“Jack Greene is now a devoted follower! Devoted followers: 2”
“Well then who is the other one?” John wondered.
His mind was taken from such concerns as he remembered another notification. He had a vault. Moreover, it was stuffed with genes from the fight for control of Obsidian Base.
“How do I get to the vault?” John asked himself.
“Vault access is limited to yourself and those you grant access personally. You may enter the vault through the use of any Transition Pad within Obsidian Base.”
The information came to him almost in answer to his rhetorical question. He hadn’t expected to have an answer, but he was delighted at the development. Perhaps he could get answers to some of the other questions he had too.
“Who are my followers?” He asked the air.
“You may access all base related information by placing your hand upon any Transition Panel and verbally requesting the information you seek. This will only work within bases you maintain leadership of.”
“Nice,” John said.
He moved to do as the instructions had said, placing his hand on the panel. It lit up with recognition of his mastery, and he thought of what he wanted to know first. After a few seconds, he made a request.
“Leadership Challenges,” he said.
A small screen slid from the top of the panel at his request. It lit up like any television John had ever seen. Words soon appeared on it, telling him what he wanted to know.
You have one challenge to your leadership!
Challenger: Vulsa Tetrival
Challenge: Single Combat
Win condition: Vulsa Tetrival’s submission or death
Lose Condition: Submission or death
Penalty for Losing: Forfeiture of leadership
Time to accept challenge: 72 Hrs.
You may assign a champion to fight in your stead.
Assigned champion must be a devoted follower or higher.
Warning! Loss by an assigned champion will incur all penalties. Choose wisely.
Stolen story; please report.
John sighed at the never-ending predation the Garden favored. He would have to address that soon, but he saw no need to worry about it for the time being. Instead, he requested some other information.
“Follower List,” he said.
Followers: 2
Jack Greene, Gogojira
Devoted followers: 2
Jack Greene, Gogojira
Requests to follow: 4374
You may set all requests to accept or decline automatically. Would you like to configure those conditions now?
“Gogojira?” He wondered.
It took him a moment to remember the name. It was the large gorilla that had made the deal for second place in the contest. Apparently, he had decided to join John. Not only that, but he had also somehow risen to the rank of devoted follower. Not knowing how such a process worked, John pushed it from his mind.
John looked over the screen and was relieved to find a solution to thousands of requests. Especially since it seemed like the number had gone up in the few moments since last checking. He quickly agreed to set the criteria for following.
After a bit of thought, John set the terms to allow anyone in distress access to the base so long as they did not seek to harm any other residents. He wondered how esoteric he could be with his criteria before he was misinterpreted. Deciding there was only one way to find out, he continued to outline his demands.
Followers would be permitted so long as they did not actively or passively seek to undermine him or his interests. Furthermore, they had to agree to refrain from combat within Obsidian Base. Apart from that, John didn’t think any great restrictions needed to be in place. Only time would tell though.
John looked over his decisions before confirming. There was a positive chime from the podium before the screen dissolved to neutrality. As soon as it did, John received a notification.
“You have gained 4,296 followers. All followers have been given residence.”
“You have declined seventy-eight follow requests.”
“Only seventy-eight? That’s surprising.” John thought.
He was interrupted from further speculation by the knock of his father at the door. At a thought, the door slid open to admit him. Jack walked in the door with a goofy smile on his face. John knew before asking what the source was.
“Alright,” he said to his father, “let’s see it.”
3
Jack wasted no time in summoning his new Divine rank soul. John looked at the weapon with raised eyebrows. He had never seen anything like it before.
His first impression was that of a spider hugging his father’s torso from behind. Eight bone arms curled around his torso, one over each shoulder, two just beneath his armpits, another pair closer to his waist, and the final two wrapping around his upper legs. An ivory-colored armor covered Jack from shoulder to groin.
“What is it?” John asked upon getting a good look.
“It’s something called a Divine Arachnoid. Not quite a spider I don’t think. But pretty cool right?”
“It’s… certainly unique. What can it do?” John asked.
“The best I can tell, the arms act as defense; but they can also do this,” Jack said, turning to face a wall.
He concentrated for a second before two of the arms straightened with a snapping sound. The wall was impaled almost instantly by a pair of conical bone shards. John’s head rocked back in mild surprise.
“Woah. That’s pretty cool. Offensive and defensive capabilities. It’s a good fit for you,” he said.
“I agree. I don’t plan to spend as much time here as you do, but I should be able to hold my own when I am.”
“Sweet. I should select my own prize too. But there’s something I want to check out first. What did you get for placement in the challenge?” John asked as he accessed the Transition pad once more.
“I got something called an Immunity Token. Says I can opt out of any one challenge the Garden throws at me. It’s a free pass basically.”
“Nice. That’ll come in handy. Well, do you want to check out my new vault with me?” John asked.
“Hell yeah!” Jack exclaimed.
“Follow me,” John said as he gave his father access to the base vault.
Then he touched the panel once more before fading out of existence as his father stared at him. John emerged in a room like nothing he had ever seen. It was so enthralling that he was still staring open-mouthed at the scene when his father finally appeared behind him.
“You know, some of us don’t-” his father’s words were cut short as he too beheld the room they stood in.
It was a large room, the only access point being the transition pad they stood upon. Somewhere near the far wall, some football field away was a small pile of neatly assorted genes. John could barely make out their telltale glisten in the eerie light.
The entire space between there and the transition pad upon which he stood was an unbroken river of slowly flowing lava. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all surrounded by the molten earth. At closer inspection, John could see a transparent layer of something separating the lava from the contents of the vault.
“Are we inside the volcano?” his father asked, taking in the scene as well.
“That’s as good a guess as any,” John said as he started forward.
The room was no hotter than the room they had just come from, a clear indication that things weren’t as they seemed. Moreover, there had to be airflow of some sort in order to survive in the room at all. Yet, to all senses, the room appeared entirely encased in lava.
The two of them walked forward in awe as they looked around, surveying the many empty shelves and open floor space the vault contained. The further he walked, the more he realized his initial assumption that he had a vault “stuffed with genes” had been optimistic to say the least. Only the smallest section of the room had any genes to fill it.
That wasn’t to say he had an inconsequential horde. As he approached, John’s eyes widened at the sight of nearly a thousand genes of various tiers. Genes of all different varieties were arranged neatly upon shelves or within alcoves.
A glance told him that both he and his father could reach the peak of both Advanced and Wizened genes if they desired. And that wouldn’t even deplete the reserve. John smiled like the snake that got the egg.
Now he could move on. Now he could focus his attention on bigger concerns. Now he could finally get serious. Beside him, his father let out an amazed sigh.
“It seems like cheating, doesn’t it?” He asked.
“Not really,” John replied, “we may not have killed every beast these genes came from, but we fought to the end to claim the spoils. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s how the Garden rewards determination.”
“It still seems a bit cheap,” Jack said.
“Does that mean you don’t want any?” John asked with a smile.
“Honestly? I don’t know if I do,” Jack said.
“What do you mean?” John asked.
“You just said it yourself. The Garden rewards those who are always seeking a way forward. If I take these, I’m choosing that life of strife and perseverance.”
“You don’t want to move forward?” John asked.
“It’s not that. You guys have lost me once already. I don’t want to risk myself again. If something else happens, your mom…”
“I know,” John said, breaking the silence his father had fallen into.
“This world is a crazy place. And as much as I hate to admit it, I think you were born for it. Not all of us are so well equipped.” Jack said.
John didn’t know what to say. He didn’t want to coerce his father into progressing if that wasn’t what he wanted to do. Moreover, he was rendered speechless by his father’s assertion that John belonged there.
“It’s okay,” Jack said, “keep the genes. I have a feeling you’ll need them for something else sooner or later.”
“Okay,” John finally said.
“Are we done in here?” Jack asked.
“Just about,” John said with a predatory grin at the genes.
4
“Congratulations! Your Advanced genes have reached 100!”
“Congratulations! Your Wizened genes have reached 100!”
“Congratulations! For being the first from your planet to reach 100 Advanced Genes, you have received a Wizened Soul Token!”
“Congratulations! For being the first from your planet to reach 100 Wizened Genes, you have received a Divine Soul Token!”
“Congratulations! For being the first from your planet to reach 100 genes in all tiers below Divine, have received a Title. Fitness Junkie! The yield and fitness enhancement of consumed genes is increased by 20%. By virtue of its nature, Fitness Junkie automatically bears the Pioneer Distinction! This title works retroactively!”
Before John could even begin to parse what he was being told, he felt an impossible swell of energy within him. He gasped as a torrent seemed to fountain from his core. It spread to every cell as he nearly fell over from the burst of excess power.
“You have been retroactively awarded seven Divine genes!”
John remained rooted in place, breathing as though he had held his breath for several minutes. He wanted to sit and rest, but there was no place but the lava lit floor of the vault he and his father still stood in. He was about to sit anyway, when even more information streamed into his brain.
“Congratulations! For Pioneering three or more traits or titles, your Pioneer Distinction has been upgraded to the Trailblazer Distinction!”
“Are you okay?” Jack asked, seeing his sudden change.
“Yeah,” John said though he was unsure.
He felt strange, like he had gained more than simply a half dozen extra genes, though those alone had been enough to overwhelm him. Additionally, he felt as if everything he already had gained meant more than it had before. He shook his head, resigned never to know for sure.
“First Pioneer Distinction. Now Trailblazer. I still have no idea what either of those things mean,” he thought.
“Are we ready to go?” Jack asked, unaware of his son’s musings.
“Uhh, yeah. Let’s go get more goodies.”
The two of them left via transition pad and were back within the same room John had originally come to. John immediately moved to the panel to use the tokens he had acquired. His father on the other hand moved to the door.
“I should get going. I have to meet your buddy Jules in Emerald. You know that guy is kind of a genius?”
“Oh yeah! I forgot you were going to go meet him. How did that go?” John asked.
“Well, for one, he tried to recruit me as a guardian as soon as I mentioned being your dad. It took me ten minutes to convince him I only wanted to help with administration.”
“Yeah. The people I bring to him tend to be on the unbelievable side. He must have thought you were the reason I’m so awesome,” John said.
“Are you saying I’m not?” Jack asked in a mock offended tone.
“I’m saying he had reason to assume,” John responded, not answering the question.
“Hm. Well anyway, the kid has one hell of a mind. Did you know he has spread your business to half a dozen bases already? There are about four hundred clients in most of them, and he had me organizing which guardians should take which jobs in which base for about two days straight. He made this massive chart detailing each job and how long it would take based on distance from the base and how soon someone was available to begin, I mean I was lost for about three hours. Where did you find that kid?”
John laughed.
“He traded me the arrow I use for some genes I had found. It only took me about five minutes to figure out how smart he was just like you did. I knew that together we could do big things. But I’ve gotta be honest, I didn’t expect to outpace the entire reason for creating the guild. I don’t even need genes anymore. Now it’s just a many mouthed beast I have no time to feed. Luckily Jules can still benefit from the genes that are brought in. I’d feel bad asking him to do all that work for no gain.”
“That’s just it. I think he’s addicted to it. Do you even know how many genes he’s collected from all the contracts people bring him? It’s enough to pack one corner of your new vault full at least. You should talk to him about this place, you know. It’s a big opportunity.”
“I agree. It’s on the list. I’m just a bit overworked at the moment. But when you see him, send him here. I’ll mark him as VIP.”
“Will do. I’ll see you back home,” Jack said before turning away.
“Yep,” John said, turning his attention back to his task.
“You have three Personal Tokens and one Base Token! Would you like to use one?”
“Yes,” John said to the panel.
A layer of the panel slid away, revealing the slot in which tokens would fit. John summoned his Wizened soul token first. He quickly fit the token into the slot.
As he inserted the coin, the small screen filled with innumerable options for weapons, armor, transformations, augmentations, and a variety of other types of souls. John shook his head at all the insane luck he had. Both the good and the bad.
Sure, he had forgotten to press circle in time and been counterattacked by a giant cactus. Sure, he had been in a coma the day before. But he couldn’t deny that when the dice fell in his favor, the favor was immense.
“Maybe something that’s good for close combat,” John thought as he looked at the screen of choices.
He had plenty of options for dealing ranged damage. He even had a Divine weapon for mid range fights. Unfortunately, none of his options held up in a close and personal scuffle.
He looked over the list, even narrowing it down to try to find something that caught his eye. Even after several minutes of searching though, he was disappointed at the lack of appealing options. With a sigh of resignation, he changed tack.
“If I can’t find something for close quarters, maybe I can upgrade my distanced combat,” he thought.
Resetting the filters, John began looking for a suitable augmentation for his bow. He debated augmenting something else, but in truth, his bow was his favorite soul apart from perhaps Jane. Since she was already a Divine soul, he went with his next choice.
“This looks good,” John said as he selected and confirmed his choice.
“You have received Wizened Soul Augmentation!”
John wasted no time summoning his bow and allowing his new soul to merge with it. The two souls shone as they made a connection. Within seconds, the augmentation had been consumed by the Lunar Stag Bow.
“Advanced Lunar Stag Bow has evolved to Wizened Luminal Bow!”
“Notice! Luminal Bow may now draw upon any source of light and all types of ammunition will now deal Luminal damage!”
John let himself smile, but quickly recalled the bow and turned his attention back to his spoils. He placed the Divine Soul token in next, already eager for the options he would receive. As the screen lit up, John saw it.
It was the very first soul on display. As he looked upon it, he was so enthralled that he selected it for more information without even considering. A small description of the item appeared.
Itzukiel’s Mercy
All purpose armament
As good for stopping an attack as it is for ending a life.
Equally suited to evading a fight and bringing a fight to you.
Supplements the inflexible reach of a hammer with the inescapable distance of a projectile.
Made from the soul of the Legendary Warrior Itzukiel after he broke the Soul Pact he had made.
John was stunned at the sinister nature of the soul, even before learning it had come from what sounded suspiciously like a person. Did that matter? Was the soul of a person more sacred than the soul of an animal? John shook his head, turning his attention back to inspecting the weapon.
As the description stated, it had several components. The first part was what looked like a buckler shield. It would cover little more than his forearm, but that was not it’s only function.
From beneath the shield protruded a deadly looking arrowhead. By aiming his wrist, he would be able to shoot it like a crossbow. The image depicted the bolt as being attached to some type of thin cable, creating a pseudo grappling hook sharp enough to pierce clean through a foe.
That was only the first half of the strange weapon though. After successfully anchoring a target with the tether, either John or his victim, whichever weighed less, would be pulled towards the other as the cable retracted itself. That would form the setup for the true devastator.
From the elbow facing end of the shield streamed another cable. It snaked behind the back to connect to the real damage dealer. In the opposite hand from the shield would rest a weapon.
The cable connected to the handle of a weapon John was almost familiar with. Somewhere between two and three feet long, the handle connected to what John was considering a hammer. One side held the expected blunt head of said hammer. The other half housed a near foot long, uncurved pick, like if a claw hammer had been renamed “stab hammer”.
John’s mind raced as he stared at the deadly weapon. The ideas he already had for different ways to use the weapon made him almost too excited to pass it up. Moreover, it was not only a great close quarters weapon as he had been hoping for, but also a weapon for bringing ranged foes to him.
Deciding that looking at more options would only make the choice harder, John confirmed his selection.
“You have received Itzukiel’s Mercy!”
5
John was ecstatic over his new Divine Soul. Not wanting to get distracted by it however, he turned his attention back to the panel. He pulled out his Divine Cultivation Scroll token and placed it in the slot. The screen lit up with a plethora of options for John to choose from.
He quickly selected the physical cultivation tab. Second, he filtered the selections by difficulty. He moved down the list until reaching the bottom. He didn’t pay attention to the finer statistics of the cultivations and instead selected the very last option on the list and requested information.
Sublime Apotheosis
Seraphic fortification of physical makeup on a cellular level.
Having expected more, John was initially disappointed. For the most difficult cultivation on offer, the description didn’t give him a whole lot to go on. As he studied the name and few words of explanation though, he paused.
“Apotheosis? Seraphic? I’m not a thesaurus, but aren’t those words used to describe gods?”
John was too curious not to check the trial statistics for the cultivation. He needed a comparison for his other cultivations. At his prompting, the screen displayed the information.
Sublime Apotheosis
Difficulty: Extremely Difficult
Abandoned Trials: 246,139,458,742
John had requested the last statistic based on his memory of the most difficult mental cultivations. Upon inspection, he was impressed. Sublime Apotheosis fell somewhere between Mind Void and False Truth in terms of difficulty.
Extremely Difficult was enough challenge for him. He smiled at his own hubris before disregarding any other choice on the list. Confirming his selection, John reached out to take the proffered scroll.
“You have received scroll: Sublime Apotheosis”
John took the scroll, but momentum stopped him from tearing it open to study it immediately. Instead, he sat it down next to the control panel. He had one last token to use. With an anticipatory smile, he inserted the Roaming Base token.
“You have augmented your base with ‘Roaming Base Token’!”
“Attention! Obsidian Base has gained the Roam Perk!”
“Obsidian Base now has the ability to passively or determinedly travel up to five thousand miles per day. Access travel options through any Transition Panel within Obsidian Base,”
As he had suspected, the token had given him the ability to move his entire base. Five thousand miles each day was something like two hundred and ten miles per hour on earth. John didn’t know the Graden’s equivalent, but he suspected it was quite fast.
John went through the options for his new city sized vehicle. There were several ways to use it, but what really caught his attention was the territory the base encompassed. It was far more than simply the chunk of mountainside on which the base sat.
John smiled as he realized that the entire mountain would travel with him each time the base was moved. He should have suspected such an inclusion after seeing the lava vault. The revelation brought an odd thought to his head.
“It kind of makes me feel like a supervillain, carrying a volcano in my back pocket.”
John turned his attention back to the travel options. Again, he was impressed by the utility. It was surprisingly comprehensive.
He could set the base to travel the full 5,000 miles in any direction. He could also set it to travel a specific distance or length of time, such as one hundred miles or fifteen hours. It seemed the easiest option for travel.
Additionally, he could simply select the direction and allow the base to travel its max distance in a straight line each day. Now that he was perusing the options, he could see that the base would travel at full speed for twenty hours before a cooldown period of eight. Contrarily, he could also select an option called “Meander.”
According to the explanation, Meander was a passive travel option that would take all of the control he had from the journey. Instead, the base would stay in constant motion, although at a much slower pace than directed travel would be. The trade off was that the base would remain in constant motion, never needing to stop for a cooldown. The maximum distance would remain at 5,000 miles, but the pace would include the eight hours of cooldown per day.
All of that was very fascinating, and John couldn’t wait to start experimenting with the function. What he wanted to try out first was the next option he noticed. One look at it and he knew Jules would be frothing at the mouth.
It was an option to select a specific destination, usually another base. The distance would be calculated, and then John could see how many days of travel it would take to get there. Even adjacent to Jules’s goal of mapping all of the Garden, John felt immense excitement.
“He’s going to lose it,” John said to himself.
Thinking of Jules, John played with the control panel and set base access to “All positive acquaintances.” That would allow Liz to meet him there as well. Not knowing when either of them would actually show up, he continued to mess with his base controls.
Everyone visiting a base for the first time would generally show up at the public transition pads along the perimeter of the base. John didn’t want his friends to have to struggle to find him though. So, he dove deep into the functions of the base and altered the default controls.
He created a parameter within the base controls that allowed close acquaintances to default to the transition pad of his choice. He chose the transition pad he was standing on, then began manually adding people to the list. Jules, Liz, John’s mother, Liz’s mother, and both of her younger brothers were the first names to go on the list.
He couldn’t put his father on the list because he had already selected a room. That was an important distinction. It meant that John couldn’t overrule someone’s choice, even as the owner of the base. That gave him comfort, as he didn’t want to control everyone that came to visit.
Thinking of the first two likely visitors, John quickly retrieved a pen and paper and began writing a general note that both Liz and Jules would benefit from. When he was finished, he taped it to the control panel on the transition pad.
Then he went into the controls again, having seen an option that would assist his note. It was a simple timer function, and John set it for forty-eight hours. He started the timer, turning his attention back to the note he had written.
Welcome to Obsidian Temple. I’m probably out doing something stupid right now, but I’ll be back when the timer hits zero. Feel free to explore until then. -John
Satisfied with his efforts, John finally turned his focus to the scroll he had been given. It was clasped with an emblem just like his other two scrolls, but this one was simply a human body with an actual diamond at its core. It glistened in the light, seeming to symbolize an inner strength blossoming.
John was tempted to crack it open and begin studying it immediately, but he hesitated. He hadn’t even given Lunar Radiance the study it needed for him to progress to the first stage. How long would it take if he divided his attention in three instead of just the two he already had?
“Not yet,” John decided.
He would take the scroll back home, keeping it in reserve for when Lunar Radiance made a breakthrough. It would serve as motivation for him to work harder. And hard work was exactly what he had in mind.
He had felt close to a breakthrough with a Lunar Radiance once already. It was when he had taken the Spirit attack from Light Thrower. He had been able to make the connection between sunlight and his own abilities.
If he could find the route back to that clarity, he felt certain his Spiritual Cultivation would take a quantitative leap. After all his recent injuries, his confidence was tempered by humility, but that wouldn’t deter him.
“Let’s get started.”