Tom woke up feeling even worse than the last time. His head was killing him, and he was hungry beyond belief. " Second time in as many days..." Tom cursed under his breath. He had no idea how long he had been out for. And frankly, he wasn't eager to find out as he was sure that this time he had spent much longer out cold.
"Ahem"
Tom's focus was immediately drawn to where he heard the sound. Or at least he tried. The moment he tried to turn his head, it felt like it was going to split.
"Drink this," The voice said
Tom had no idea how the person had gotten into his apartment or what they were doing. So the immediate reaction he had to the offer was adverse. He tried to move his head away, but the person just opened his mouth and poured it down his throat. His resistance attempts were casually ignored, like they didn't even happen.
The moment the liquid hit his mouth, he knew he had to drink it all. His whole body wanted it as if it was something it had always craved but never gotten. So he started swallowing hurriedly. As soon as the liquid hit his stomach, he felt a wave of gentle heat spread through his body, and finally, it made its way to his head.
He immediately started feeling better. But the liquid ran out much too soon. It was like, he was a man stranded on a deserted island. Who had gotten their first taste of water in years, only for it to run out after it had only wetted his tongue.
"More, please," Tom pleaded. He was feeling better and better each second. But still, he was craving for more of the wonderful feeling he had just experienced.
"Do you have any idea how expensive the liquid you just drank is? Well, at least by humanity's standards?" The person asked. And Tom realized that he wasn't alone in his apartment. And it came back to him that someone had made him drink that wonderful drink.
"I have no idea, but I am still feeling quite bad. A Second one would be appreciated." Tom dried his luck. While doing his best imitation of puppy dog eyes as he turned to look at the person. The moment he sees it, he freezes. It was no human. No, it was a robot.
"Well, Thous drinks are called tier 0 nutrient fluid, and they cost one credit per bottle." Tom just looked at the robot incredulously. "Are you going to charge me for it, as I can't affo.." The robot interrupted Tom with a wave of its hand while it said. "Of course not. Just imagine that it's part of your reward. And to answer your unasked question. I am Glatian senior administrator for this region of the Earth, and I am here in this Helper bot body. You can address me as a senior administrator. And I came here to have a chat with you as you did something that was not supposed to happen for quite some time yet."
Tom was too dumb-struck to answer. One of Earth's new overlords was in his apartment to 'have a chat with him about something that he did.' He could feel how his panic level started rising at an astonishing rate. He tried to locate an escape route while acting as naturally as possible. Which was not that convincing, but one can hope that these aliens are not used to reading human emotions.
But of course, his hopes were immediately crushed as the Glatian said. "don't even think of running away. I only have so much time to spend giving you the most basic information and etiquette lessons about the cultivation world." Tom was utterly still, and it was not that he did not try to move. Oh no, he did, but he just couldn't do it. The only thing he could move was his head.
Before Tom could open his mouth to ask one of the dozen of questions he Had. The Glatian continued speaking like it had sensed what Tom intended to do. "As I don't have that much time. I will explain to you your current situation, and if I can, I will answer a couple of your questions. However, you will most likely have to purchase the information on your own from Empire net."
Tom gave a weak nod as that was all that he could do as an answer.
"You might not have yet realized it with all the pain and me giving you a surprise visit and all, but you are now a cultivator. You have successfully awakened your mind. This shouldn't normally be even possible in this forsaken corner of the galaxy, where there is basically no mana whatsoever. But alas, the path of mind is the only one in which advancement in Secverse affects the real world too. But still, what you did, should not even be possible, as you have no mana to call your own in here or in the Secverse. As I am not high enough rank, I am not privy to the details, and you should not tell them to me. As it might seem like, I abused my position..."
Tom just kept looking at the robot, trying to digest everything it said. After the Glatian had given Tom some time to process what it had said, it continued.
" So every human, when they login to the Secverse for the first time, their minds go through small evolution, and their will transforms into something better, to something determinable, to willpower. This is what tends to happen when sapient creatures are exposed to mana for the first time, so it's no surprise that the same happens to humans. Unless of course, you are a statistical anomaly.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
So after they have been exposed to mana they have willpower but it is not yet truly their power. The will creates a symbiotic bond with the mana. The will gives the mana purpose and the mana gives it power. But if you want this power to be yours and become a cultivator. You need to sever the link between the mana affected by your will from the world around you and make it truly yours. To force it only to listen to you.
After you do this you are truly a cultivator as this is no longer a borrowed power. Your will and mana will naturally create willpower. And as you already have willpower of your own it will automatically sever the connection between the world and mana. But further studies on this topic are quite expensive as knowledge is power. So we won't be continuing on this topic as I am already pushing the limits of what I am allowed to say."
Another short pause as Tom tried to memorize everything that the Glatian had said. " So let us get to the real reason for the fact that I was made to come here. Firstly as there is so little mana, you were suffering as your body and mind were evolving, and they had no energy to finish it. So I had to come here and make you drink the tier 0 nutrient fluid so that your body would not consume itself and ruin your future as a cultivator."
"Secondly, as you now are a cultivator. You need to be more careful with your actions. Especially in this world, as no one has had any exposure to mana. So your willpower could do great damage as they don't even have the most basic automatic defenses against it. So I would recommend that you do not use it on Earth. And on top of that, it will be almost impossible for you to regenerate it without an outside source of mana.
Hurting lower lifeforms is a serious crime in the real world without being provoked. And even if you are provoked, it is highly recommended that you call the authorities, as these laws are quite complicated, so it is just easier to let them handle them. But if you are curious, you can find them on the Empire net. Interactions between same-power individuals are a bit more complicated. On places like this planet, where there are laws against all aggression, you will have to follow them, and you can learn about how they work elsewhere if you are ever able to leave this place."
"And lastly. Sharing any of this knowledge with people close to you is not necessarily forbidden. Still, it is highly frowned upon, as everyone is encouraged to find their own path. However, posting any of this on Empire net is illegal as you would be breaking the law of cultivation information sharing.
In the cultivation world, we live by the principle that everything must be earned. So if you want to share your knowledge, you would have to make some kinda comprehensive course or guide out of it and send it to the Empire net AI for a review. It will ensure that it is truly your knowledge, not just you repackaging already existing knowledge and selling it. And if it is your own knowledge, the AI will set a minimum price, and you can't sell it cheaper than that, but naturally, you can make the price higher. I would recommend you against wasting your time on creating a course for these early advancements, as they are a highly contested field, and there are already countless courses out there."
"So I hope that cleared a bit of your confusion. Next time you decide to advance your mind, please make sure to have nutrient fluids on standby or other similar products as it's not sure if the AI decides that you are deserving of reward then. So I can guarantee that if we are forced to save you, it won't be cheap, and you would be getting quite nice debt for our trouble. I have a bit of time left, so you can ask some questions, but remember that information on more serious matters is not cheap, and you are broke."
Tom was quiet for at least two minutes as he digested everything he had learned. He had gotten an answer to many of his unanswered questions about this world and Secverse. He felt that he was now a completely new man. He had so many things to test. He could barely hold back from login straight to Secverse to test his theories. So many things made so much more sense now. But Tom had to focus. He still had a fountain of knowledge right in front of his eyes, and he had to take full advantage of it.
"How come you can tell me all this" Tom asked the first question that came to his mind. He did not want to keep the Glatian waiting as he didn't want it to leave while he was focused on his toughs.
"Ah, good, a question that I can answer. I can tell you this as this knowledge was part of the reward that the Secverse AI set for you with the nutrient fluid bottle. Also, it is a completely different case to make sure that person understands his power once he has achieved it than to spoon-feed him what he has to do. As if you did not understand what you did. You would most likely do something stupid, like test the limits of your skills in the real world, drain yourself of mana, and likely hurt somebody else."
Tom had to admit that the answer made sense. As he was sure that after he had realized that he had power in the real world, he would have tested it in every possible way. To understand it and he would have done the same in the Secverse. But now he was saved a lot of trouble.
"Think, think what would be a good question." Tom thought. He needed to come up with good questions as he could see how the Glatian using the robot body, was getting up from its seat.
His mind was not cooperating with him. He was only coming up with questions that he was sure the Glatian would not answer, but as he was not coming up with any other questions, he decided to try his luck." I have my mind awakened. What about my body and core?"
The Glatians robotic face somehow twisted into an expression Tom decided to interpret as a smile as it answered. "Only thing I can say is. FORGE and CENTRALIZE." The Glatian said while mimicking the AI's voice. "Well, that's all for this time. I am needed elsewhere, and you already got more out of me than what was required. Don't kill yourself while experimenting in the real world." The Glatian said as it walked out of the apartment."
Tom yelled his thanks after the Glatian. As he realized it was already leaving, he fell back onto his bed. Tom's mind was on overdrive. Trying to remember every second of their one-sided conversation, and understand everything it had said. Soon enough, he was coming down from the adrenaline rush and the power boost he had gotten from the nutrient fluid, and Tom realized that he was still extremely tired. Tom cursed his luck" Why. How does this make any sense? I paid a fortune for this change, but here I am again, falling asleep. Wasting more of my limited time..." Then sleep claimed him, his mind still on all the things the Glatian had said.