“You tried to kill me. I can see that you’re not even trying to deny that fact, and that speaks well that you either are good at accepting responsibility or aren’t stupid. Hopefully it’s both. Now, care to explain why?” Falnier crossed his arms and stared Rowan down with a gaze that could cow dragons.

“I have no excuse, I lost-” Rowan was cut off by Vorn taking control, “Before this idiot digs his hole any deeper, he has a champion blessing from Elenia, the blood one, and a Berserker skill that increases the effect of adrenaline on him. I think it even said something about it being an enhanced version of adrenaline. It mentioned negative effects, and I think recklessness is one of them.” Vorn explained, trying to keep his friend from being thrown into a rehabilitation center for unstable classers, a fancy term for prison. Well, that, or executed.

“Hmm? That is a dangerous combination. No wonder he was so vicious. We need to work on his control immediately. And Vorn? I appreciate that you noticed the signs I was sending you not to interfere, I wouldn’t have known the extent of the problem if you hadn’t listened. My thanks.” Falnier said earnestly.

“Now, for you Rowan. I have a plan, but you aren’t going to like it.”

“Wait, I’m supposed to be his force of reason, we agreed on that! I’m just as responsible for keeping him in control. Just because I couldn’t this time, because you asked, might I add, doesn’t mean-

“I’ll accept your guidance. This cannot happen again. Vorn, I may be a violent man, one prone to outbursts at times, but I am not a mindless beast, and I will not be reduced to one. Thank you for having my back, but I need to get a handle on my own skills. You are not a zookeeper, you’re my friend. Don’t forget that.” Rowan said, his eyes set in determination. It was the most emotion that Vorn had ever seen from him.

“Determination is good, and you’re going to need plenty of it. You're going into guided meditation with me until we can awaken your Seed of Authority. That should give you enough control to be allowed to safely function in society.”

“To function in society? What would have happened if you didn’t accept?” Vorn asked, concerned.

“I would have sent him straight to the prison in the capital. Or executed him if he resisted. Wild berserkers are not allowed, especially not those with as much power as a Unique Being.” Falnier explained blandly.

Vorn wanted to be offended on Rowan’s behalf, but he understood the necessity of the rules. Wild Berserkers were banned from every nation and were generally killed on sight or arrested until they were either able to control themselves or had proven that they couldn’t. In which case… Well, you could guess.

The silver of Vorn’s eyes brightened to orange. Rowan stood and waited for orders from his instructor. [Regeneration] was still overcharged on Vitality, so most of his wounds had already healed. Now, he was back in soldier mode.

“Sir, speaking of this ‘Seed of Authority’ I did notice a small… Something that was a source of Vital Energy that I pulled from when I was fighting you. Is that what you’re talking about?” Rowan asked, his posture perfectly straight with his hands behind his back. His voice was a differential monotone that, while lacking intonation, promised absolute obedience. For the time being, at least.

Falniers eyebrows rose, and for the first time that Vorn could recall, showed obvious and extreme surprise.

“You found the seed by yourself? You’re much more dangerous than I thought, I’m glad you agreed to this. It’d be a shame to see so much potential go to waste. Now, follow me. I will explain while we walk.” Falnier began moving at a fast clip, and a shroud emerged from him to engulf both him and Rowan. It was a slightly opaque dome that seemed to block all sound from leaving or entering.

“The Seed of Authority is the nexus for all Vital Energy in your body. Vital Energy, in itself, is a misnomer. It is not vital at all, and people can live perfectly fine without it, some rare individuals even do. The reason it got its name is because of the similarities it has with True Vitality, being so near it and having similar effects. At least, at first. Vital Energy’s true name is Authority. It’s a multifaceted energy that, as far as I’m aware, no one knows the true bounds of.” Falnier explained.

“What are the broad strokes, sir? What can it do?”

“Before it sprouts? Not much. It has a large reservoir of Authority, but it takes a long time to regenerate any amount of energy that is pulled from it, so it’s not recommended to pull from it as you have. After it sprouts? Well, it doesn’t have as many applications as mana, but it can do quite a bit, all of which is internal. It can give you skin stronger than steel, muscles that never tire, anything you can think of. It takes a lot of work, though, and is so hard to manipulate that most people could never even budge their Authority. It takes a certain mindset.”

“And I have that mindset?” Rowan asked.

“In spades, it would seem. Authority requires a strong hand to manipulate. You need a will of steel for it to even acknowledge you.”

“Acknowledge? Is it sentient?”

“I don’t think so, but that’s up for debate. Personally, I just think it’s a very specifically directed energy that we don’t fully understand. I think that if we knew exactly how it was manipulated, almost anyone could use it. A strong will is the only thing I know that works, but at the end of the day, it is just energy. It must have a path of least resistance, though no one I know could tell you what that might be.”

“Maybe a strong will is the only conduit it will follow?” Rowan posited.

“Perhaps. Nothing is known for certain, even given the countless years people have been cultivating Authority. This is beside the point, though. The point is, despite how much is known about it, Authority contains incredible power, the least of it being able to direct your other skills. Physical ones, at least.”

“So that’s what happened…” Rowan thought aloud to himself.

“I don’t know why I allow myself to continue to be surprised by you, of course you managed that in our duel. I assume that’s how you kept fighting for so long?”

“Yes. I used it to overcharge [Regeneration] and directed the rejuvenating energy towards muscle damage and lactic acid build up to allow myself to fight longer. I think [Elenia’s Blessing] allowed me to fight despite the outrageous blood loss, but that’s just a theory.”

“Interesting. If you're able to pull these skills under your control, you’ll be a true force to be reckoned with in no time. With your talent, I have high hopes for you. See that you meet them.”

“Sir!” Rowan acknowledged

— — —

Falnier brought them through a winding path that ended in a dark alley that was hidden from plain view. This alley was on the opposite side of Bern, though still on the outskirts. An illusion was placed over it that Falnier swiftly broke through before ushering Voran inside. Vorn couldn’t help but notice that the illusion looked remarkably familiar…

Inside, they were met with a blank, prison-like interior. The room was a long, straight corridor that had iron doors leading off every fifteen feet or so on both walls. The doors themselves appeared to be made of black cast iron that was reinforced with Runes. Contrary to how common they seemed in Bern, Runes were actually extremely expensive to both install and keep running long-term. The sheer amount of bright and blinding cores required to keep a single decent enchantment running was staggering.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

The fact this facility had eighteen doors that were enchanted and powered at all times spoke to the fact that this hidden site was extremely well-funded.

Falnier brought Rowan down to the second to last door on the right and walked through with him. The room inside was sparse, with a barrel of dry rations and a faucet for water. That was it. No bed, no decor, not even a ceiling light. It was nearly pitch black in the room, with only mild light leaking in from the corridor from the small gap below the black iron door.

“Now, sit.” Falnier commanded.

Rowan complied silently.

The Elf brought out a chair from his personal storage that he kept hidden somewhere on his person. He was so quick that Rowan couldn’t get a solid look at where he pulled it from, and the darkness didn’t help his perceptive abilities.

“Close your eyes, and try to find your Authority Seed.”

Rowan once more listened without saying a word.

While fighting Falnier, he hadn’t actually needed to “look” for the seed, he just felt out for the seat of his Vitality. He wasn’t sure if Falnier meant for him to literally look for it, or just feel out for it like he did before.

He decided he could just feel out for it, and try to look inwards once he did. If he couldn’t, he’d ask for clarification, if he could, then it wouldn’t be a problem.

However, his simple plan was immediately blocked by a minor problem.

Rowan could no longer feel where the seed was, nor where the concentration of True Vitality was either. It was as if they were hidden from his senses.

He felt out for them again and again, but he just kept coming up blank. He could recall in the haze of his fight that it was a few inches below his belly button, but it was as if it had disappeared.

He thought back, had he ever really felt it outside of battle? Had he ever really felt in general? The answer was no, he hadn’t felt it all. The only reason he had found it was because he was calling for his True Vitality. So how could he draw from it in his fight against Falnier?

Maybe he didn’t need to find it, but to demand it reveal itself to him instead. That seemed to be more in line with what he knew of Authority.

Rowan concentrated and released the full brunt of his will inward.

‘You will reveal yourself to me!’

Just like that, he could feel the seed once more, though it was noticeably shriveled. He really did a number on the poor thing.

He tried to focus on looking internally, so he could actually look at it, but had no luck. After a few minutes, he asked for clarification, “Do you actually want me to look at the seed? Or is feeling it fine?”

“No, you need to be able to internally visualize the seed and the area surrounding it. Look inward.” Falnier said simply as if just the instruction would be enough.

Instead of stubbornly just trying and failing, Rowan pulled out his oldest strategy for dealing with uncertainty. Just asking.

“And how do you do that? Meditation, or something else?”

“Meditation works for some. Others do katas or other relaxing activities. The key is not simply looking inward, but opening your mind to what your body is telling you. Allowing the energy, whether that be Mana or Authority, to speak to your mind. You have to be in a state that is willing to listen.” Falnier explained more thoroughly.

Rowan set to it. Sitting still had never worked for him in his previous life, so he knew it wouldn’t in this one either. He began going through the katas he was shown for martial arts in the orphanage. None of them were particularly effective in combat, but they were decent exercise and were pretty relaxing to boot.

As Rowan went through the motions, he tried to open his mind to Authority as his instructor told him. He could feel the energy moving through his veins and toward his mind, and he instinctively shoved it back down in revulsion.

Imagine static energy crawling up your veins, but instead of being prickly and mildly uncomfortable, it was red and stabbing. How could something feel red? Rowan wasn’t sure either, but it felt distinctly red.

He steeled his mind and tried again, and the red energy started climbing back toward his mind. It was an intensely uncomfortable experience, but not one he was totally unused to. The process of augmenting a body could not always be done while the subject was unconscious, you see. Sometimes they needed to see your reactions. To make sure they weren’t hitting an important nerve or whatever the scientists said.

One of these surgeries that they performed involved the leaking of nutrient-rich rejuvenating fluid into a subdermal layer that they had installed. It was supposed to heal him if something ever breached his suit. The feeling of fluid filling an installed organ underneath his skin still kept him up at night sometimes, or it did back on Earth. He had stopped having so many nightmares once he started sharing a body with Vorn.

By the time Rowan was done reminiscing on his past, the red energy had finally reached his mind, and with it, it carried information. He could finally see the seed. He knew that it felt shriveled, but seeing it with his own two… Eyes? Was a different story.

The seed itself looked slightly horrifying, like a facsimile made by someone who had only ever heard of seeds before making one out of gristle and internal organs. He never expected it to be so… Meaty.

Gross nature aside, he had finally linked with his Authority, and he figured that doing that was the true purpose of this exercise. He could feel the red energy seep into his mind and make a home there. He knew that if he ever needed to call on it, the Authority would respond instantly. So long as his will commanded the respect that it required.

“Sir, I’ve completed the first exercise. What now?”

“Already? It’s only been a few hours.” Falnier said with a raised eyebrow. He wasn’t the type to disbelieve someone, but Rowan was really pushing the limits of his belief.

“How would you describe Authority?” He asked, probing for information.

“Red. Visceral. Organic?” He finished with a question mark. He never expected the energy to feel living in such a gristly way.

“Color me surprised, you may just be the fastest person to ever pick up Cultivating.” Falnier whistled.

At that, Rowan’s eyebrow shot up. “Cultivating? Like refining power to become stronger?” He had heard of something similar from someone on his squad. Rowan was disconnected from a lot of things in pop culture, but with the recent fall of the dystopian empire and the rise of a new nation, a lot of things were rediscovered. One of those things being Xianxia novels. Novels that his youngest squadmate, a talented new recruit at just eighteen, would not shut up about. Rowan knew more about the tropes and storylines of that genre than he ever wanted.

“Yeah. You heard of it before?” Asked the Elf, concerned about a security leak.

All Rowan did was groan. Why cultivation?

“Yes and no.” Rowan answered, “It was a popular genre of fiction in my old world.” He explained.

“Oh? That is curious. Maybe you had some travelers to your world as well, we know for a fact they influenced our fiction with their out of system powers.” Falnier said.

“I’m hoping against hope that none of the tropes hold true here.” Rowan said, sending a silent prayer up to whatever gods were listening.

“I doubt they do. You’ve probably run into a cultivator or two already, they’re not incredibly rare. Usually they are over level one hundred, though.”

“Thank the gods.” He said with a sigh of relief. That was the second most stressed Vorn had ever seen Rowan, just behind what occurred earlier today.

“Getting back on topic-” Falnier steered the conversation back on track, “The next step is simple: Take deep breaths and attempt to draw out Authority from your body. It’s going to be slow and tedious. Beware, this is the part I knew you wouldn’t like. Expect this to take a few days.” Falnier said with a severe expression. Just what did he think Rowan would do? Run? Contrary to what other people thought, he could sit still if he needed to.

— — —

A few weeks later, Rowan was seriously considering running. At first, it wasn’t so bad. Take deep steady breaths and try to draw out energy from your muscles, organs, etc. It was painfully slow, but once he got good at it he was able to do it while practicing katas, which sped it up significantly.

Going from filling up a pool with an eye dropper to a shot glass is a significant improvement, it still takes fucking forever.

Still, Rowan wasn’t a quitter, and his Seed of Authority was looking much healthier. He couldn’t help but regret going all out against the Elf for two reasons now, though. Apparently, he had drained it far more than either he or Falnier thought.

He was approaching the cusp of a breakthrough, though. He could feel it.

The organic pulsating red seed was damn near full to bursting with energy. Falnier said all he needed to do was keep pouring Authority into it until the seed bloomed. At this point, he was doing the katas far faster than anyone on Earth could possibly manage, and the rate he was gathering Authority had barely improved. As far as Voran could tell, the correlation between exertion and the red energy was loose, but there.

So long as he could keep up his rigorous and taxing exercises, the gathering of energy went up from a shot glass to a small bowl. About four times faster. Still, he was doing his katas so quickly and with such strength that even he couldn’t keep it up that long, superhuman stats or no. That led to him alternating between normal speed – Normal for Rowan, at least – and full speed.

Like that, he spent another full week just exercising. Falnier also gave him a few new katas and martial arts to practice which he became quite proficient in. Granted, until he used them in combat, he couldn’t claim any amount of mastery. It would be helpful in the future, though.

In the middle of one of his new katas, Rowan couldn’t help but ask, “Why isn’t Authority public knowledge? I understand that very few could control it, but why not give them the tools to try?”

“A good question with a simple answer, we’d like to, but can’t. As to why? I’m afraid I can’t tell you. I wouldn’t worry about it, though. At the rate you’re going, you’ll learn why in no time at all.” Falnier said encouragingly.

In the time Rowan had spent with the Elf, he had learned that past his gruff appearance and attitude, he was just a really good guy. Calm, patient, and relaxed, he never seemed to get annoyed or angry. Sure, he could send a hell of a glare, but he tended to help instead of harm whenever he could. It seemed like most of the merc attitude that he showed publicly was just a facade. A convenient disguise that he adopted because of his introverted tendencies and because it was easy. He certainly looked intimidating enough.

“I-” Before Rowan could ask what exactly he meant by his response, he could feel a shift in his Authority. Where before it felt like it was a battle to even bring an ounce of the stuff to his core, now it felt as if the Seed had become a vacuum. It was pulling Authority at an absolutely astounding rate from every inch of his body.

Rowan’s muscles locked in the middle of a kata, and he fell for only a short moment before Falnier caught him.

His body ached and his enhanced musculature could no longer support itself.

“Don’t worry, this is just part of the process. How do you think the System increases your strength? It infuses Authority into your body and manages the energy automatically. Your Seed of Authority has just successfully germinated and sprouted its first Root, absorbing and claiming all the Authority in your body. You just need to wait for your Root to finish developing, which should only take a few hours.” Falnier calmly explained.

Rowan wished he would have warned him, but that may have led to hesitation that would have slowed his growth… Probably. He couldn’t say that he ever feared pain overly much, but the Elf didn’t know that, and probably wouldn’t bet on it either even if he did.

“Congrats kid, you're one of the very few to ever Awaken at this stage. Sorry to say, but you're about to get a notification you’re going to hate.”

“H- Huh?” Rowan grunted through gritted teeth. It wasn’t necessarily because of the pain, though that did suck, but because every muscle in his body was still locked, including those in his jaw.

*Congratulations on Awakening! Due to your advancement, you are subject to the Terms and Conditions of Awakened Beings! [Read Here] Do you accept? Y/N

Note: Not accepting the offer will immediately strip you of all benefits of the System, including but not limited to: Skills, Perks, and Titles. Attributes may or may not be affected depending on the nature of the User's Awakening.

Due to your status as a Unique Being, the System will not strip you of the alterations to your soul that allow you to live, but that is the only concession that It is willing to make. Read carefully Awakened.*