While Nylarthog was being led towards the room of the Young Master, he finally took the time to collect his reward for levelling up.
Unlocked Shop, you can now gain SC, sometimes also referred to as Shop or System Currency.
Unlocked Inventory, you can now buy inventory space and store mindless objects in it.
Unlocked Help Feature, you can now ask for information concerning system functions.
QUEST ALERT
Reach Level 2
* Reach Level 2:
* * Reward: Unlock World Map (FoG==True); Unlock Further Shop Items; Enhanced Help Feature
* Failure Condition: Permanent Death
* Failure Punishment: None
* Optional Objectives:
* * * Reach Level 2 within 30 Days
* * * * Status: [Failed]
* * * Reach Level 2 within 365 Days
* * * * Status: [Failed]
* * * Reach Level 2 within 3,650 Days
* * * * Status: [Failed]
* * * Reach Level 2 within 9,125 Days
* * * * Reward: 100 SC
* Status: Error
* * Status: Not Accepted
Accept: [Y/N]
He accepted the quest without a second thought, there was no failure punishment, so there was no reason not to. At least none that came to his mind, other than maybe a maximum amount of quests.
But before he could get lost in his thoughts they finally arrived.
The servant knocked on the door, before entering, “The Master said that your time is over, I also brought your new escort, the Master hopes that you won’t try to run away again, as you were the one to demand him as your new protection detail.”
While the servant was doing her spiel, Nylarthog entered the room behind her.
It was like entering paradise. A whole wall was a screen, another wall was occupied by shelves full of various consoles, some looking like rip-offs from his original world, while others could only be called Sci-fi. There was even something that looked like a VR pod, and probably even was one.
“Ah, you are here, I demand you to play with me, you may even chose your character.” The Young Master, maybe Nylarthog should try to find out his name, completely ignored the servant, bringing Nylarthog out of his fugue.
This time not being tired, he took the time to observe the young master. At just 12 years old, he possessed a head full of fluffy brown hair that cascaded down in waves, framing his youthful features. His sparkling brown eyes were set perfectly within his face, which boasted of near-perfect symmetry. High cheekbones, a straight nose, and a strong jawline gave him a handsome appearance that was both striking and charming.
And yet, there was something undeniably cute about him - the way his nose crinkled when he laughed, the slight gap between his front teeth, the way he tilted his head. Not to forget the black cat-onesie he was wearing for some reason.
Well, Nylarthog could think of a few, from being too lazy to take it off when coming out of his bed, to that one of the servants had prepared it for him because it looked cute.
Having taken a moment to observe the Young Master, he didn’t get a chance to reply, as the servant cleared her throat, catching the attention of the Young Master who had already started fiddling with his controller, “Master, you were told to stop playing, and to meet with Mr. Nylarthog who is here to protect you.”
The Young Master pouted, “But I was just about to beat the final boss, can’t he wait?”
The servant scolded him gently, “Master, you know better than to disobey your father’s orders. Now, please turn off the game and come with us.”
Reluctantly, the Young Master turned off his console and stood up, grabbing a black hoodie from a nearby chair and putting it on over his onesie. “Fine,” he said, a pout on his face and the displeasure obvious in his voice.
“Then I will leave you alone for now, food will be served in two hours, please don’t make the Master send someone for you again.”
As soon as the servant had left the room the Young Masters demeanor did a 1-80, “Can you teach me what you did yesterday?”, he asked, eyes sparkling, suddenly not seeming to care at all that he had to pause his game.
There was just one problem, while Nylarthog had somewhat learned how to interact with adults, but children were still as much a mystery to him as they had been since he had been 10 years old in his first life. Well, he wasn’t paid for entertaining the anyone, only as scrying shield and emergency exit.
“I am sorry to disappoint, but this is my boon. So if you don’t have a way to teleport yourself then I won’t be able to teach you.” And since he probably couldn’t teleport, there wouldn’t have been a need for an emergency exit otherwise, this would hopefully end that topic.
“But you were so cool, all whoosh and slash and ‘here I am’ and ‘too slow’, they couldn’t even touch you, and then you were all ‘Yawn, did someone wake me up?’. I want to do be so cool as well.”
“Well, then I will tell you the secret to ‘acting cool’. Don’t care. People mistake apathy for coolness quite often.” Well, that and overwhelming power, but one was supposed to keep it simply when interacting with children if Nylarthog wasn’t mistaken.
The Young Master looked at Nylarthog with a confused expression on his face, “What do you mean, don’t care?”
Nylarthog paused for a moment, thinking about how to explain it in a way that a child could understand, “When you act like you don’t care, it makes you seem confident and in control. You’re not worried about what other people think, you’re just doing your own thing.”
The Young Master thought, his face twisting as if it took physical effort, about this for a moment before nodding his head, “Okay, I think I understand. But how do I do it?”
Nylarthog smiled, “It’s not something that can be taught, but it’s something that you can practice. Just try to focus on what you’re doing and not worry about what other people are thinking or saying. And if someone tries to get a reaction out of you, just don’t give them one. Stay calm and collected.”
The Young Master listened intently, nodding his head as he tried to understand. “Okay, I’ll try,” he said, determination in his voice.
Nylarthog chuckled, “That’s the spirit. Remember, being cool isn’t just about what you do, it’s also about how you carry yourself. Walk with confidence, speak with conviction, and don’t let anyone bring you down. Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind. And by doing so, you will be ‘cool’.” That was probably a quote that he had heard somewhere, so thank you unknown bringer of wisdom.
It also was probably somewhat wrong in this context, but life was about being happy, and you won’t be happy if you didn’t do what you liked.
The Young Master nodded, absorbing the advice as if it was the most important thing he had ever heard. "Thank you," the Young Master said, a smile spreading across his face. "I'm going to go practice now."
Nylarthog watched as the young boy left the room, amused by how serious he took this whole ‘being cool’ thing, before following not far behind.
----------------------------------------
His new job was both exhausting and relaxing at the same time. He didn’t have to take care not to offend anyone, and could do whatever he wanted as long as he stayed close to the Young Master.
But it was also exhausting, because said Young Master was constantly trying to gain his attention, much to his chagrin and the amusement of everyone else. And nothing helped to stop the Young Master, it didn’t matter if he ignored him, was rude or dismissing or tried to be nice, he wasn’t sure he succeeded with the last one. The pestering just didn’t stop, he had even been forced to sit next to the Young Master on the lunch table, he had been planning to use that time to finally look into the new additions he had gotten from the Level-Up quest.
But he finally got some time to himself once it was time for the daily training session of the Young Master, as he wasn’t allowed to sit in on it yet.
He had also been given the phone with all the information he requested. But he started with the system, that he could do with his eyes closed so they would at least get some rest.
‘What does the help function do?’
Help Feature: Allows the host to ask questions about system functions. Please upgrade for further information.
That could be quite useful, but if everything would be as barebones as this then it could be useless for now as well.
‘What effect do level have?’ They had to have some use other than finishing quests, otherwise the quests could just be kill this or that.
Level: A higher Level allows for access to more system functions. A higher level allows for faster cultivation. Level also influence the effectiveness of Abilities.
That sounded useful, now he just needed to know what abilities actually were.
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Abilities: Also called skills or techniques. Will be listed once the Host has aquired any. Using them will level them up. Higher level means higher effectiveness or lower cost. The system will assist in their casting if the host so desires.
That sounded both useful and concerning. He had no abilities, so he didn’t know if they were powerful or not. The fact that the system could assist in their use was also something to pay attention to, but he could mull over that more later.
‘For what do I gain EXP?’ For killing, sure, but he still didn’t know for what he was getting the minimal EXP and why some humans gave more EXP than others.
EXP: Granted when the host kills something alive. Different multipliers may effect the final amount of EXP granted per kill. Host may also acquire EXP by completing quests or creating higher-tier objects.
What the fuck were higher tear objects now?
Insufficient authority.
Yeah, what else did he expect, he would only get information about system functions, and higher-tier objects did not sound like a system function. Well, onto the next.
‘What are Boons?’
Boons: A boon is the capacity of performing a true act.
That wasn’t helpful at all. Not without knowing what a ‘true act’ was at least.
‘What are traits then?’
Traits: Also called character traits. They are unique qualities or attributes that define an individual's personality, behavior, and attitudes. Traits are often considered to be relatively stable over time and consistent across different situations.
Why was he getting such a complete asnwer all of a sudden?
‘What is the shop?’
Shop: You can buy everything in the shop using SC, so long as you have sufficient authority.
‘What is SC and how do I get it?’
SC: Also called Shop Currency or System Currency. Is acquired through fights or by completing quests. SC is used to buy items in the Shop.
It said fighting, not killing, did that mean that he could gain money from sparring with someone?
‘Is there a need for killing my opponent to get SC?’
SC: Can be acquired through fighting, killing the opponent may grant bonus SC.
Now wasn’t that good news?
‘System, explain the inventory.’
Inventory: A place of infinite entropy, also referred to as Void. The host may place mindless objects in it. To place more items please buy Inventory Space in the Shop.
Was it low-key advertising itself here? Well, only one thing to go.
‘Explain all settings.’
The settings do not exist.
Ok... he was not going to ask that again, he was getting a bad feeling and he did not want to test how far he could push the system.
With that done, he opened his new phone. Nylarthog hadn’t realized just how much he had missed being able to access any information he wanted at moments notice. And even if this phone wasn’t connected to the internet, something about the internet only working in Lower Heaven, and the phone needing a personal dimensional door to it and that being extremely exensive.
Since he was on that topic anyway, he would just begin with that, was as good a start as anything.
As he began to read, he noticed something peculiar about Lower Heaven. It sounded almost like one of those ‘Earth was normal, until the rifts opened and people awakened abilities’ novels.
Some people had abilities, commonly referred to as boons in the higher realms. They could also have what was referred to as abilities in the higher realms, which were actually techniques that helped exert ones will over the world using ones internal energy. Ability users were rare though, as using them required internal energy, and in Lower Heaven even extremely talented people would find it difficult to even advance within the Breath Cultivation stage. This was because the lower heavens lacked some form of radiation which was constantly stimulating the bodies of the people living in higher realms.
But even if they managed to get into the Elemental Attunement realm by some great luck, one would be stuck because Elemental Energies were basically non-existent. And while they could gain understanding of the element, to use it one needs to be attuned to it, which is nearly impossible without the elemental energy of the element to know to what one is supposed to attune to.
There also existed no sects in Lower Heaven, instead they had guilds, which were again basically as in the novels earlier referred to. The only difference being that the large ones were controlled by people from higher realms.
These guilds would then organize raids into so called dungeons, which were the result of Lower Heaven colliding with small dimensions or pocket dimensions and the barriers being destroyed. This was possible because the dimensional barriers of Lower Heaven were extremely weak. Which was also one of the reasons for the nearly non-existent supernatural energies and radiation there.
But back to the dungeons. They had to be cleraed because if they weren’t a dungeon break would occure, which was basically the dimension completely falling into lower-heaven and merging with it and therefore giving all the beings within the option to walk wherever they pleased.
Some larger dungeons, which were more already a dimension of their own, it was nearly impossible to clear them, so it wasn’t uncommon for maps to change every other year or so.
There was even more on Lower Heaven, such as economy, more accurate information on the technology, important people, countries and governments, and this list was by no means exhaustive, but going through every detail could easily fill multiple novels by itself, so it will be ommited for the convenience of the reader.
Next he read on the Middle Heaven, the realm he was living in. And hadn’t that been a surprise, he had expected this to be Lower Heaven, especially since most MCs started in the most remote Town of the most remote dimension of the lowest heaven of the weakets universe of the weakest multiverse, you get the idea.
For the Middle Heaven there was again way too much to read, but a short summmary would be ‘Cultivation is possible and it is realistic to break into the fifth realm of cultivation. Technology works, but everything working using a form of electricity for more than just getting some large-scale mechanism to move would need to be insulated. Runic technology can work, but needs many resources to be powered and is therefore quite expensive.’
The Runic technology referred to here meant things like inscriptions, or formations, and mechanisms that use them.
He had not been given information about Higher Heaven, but he didn’t plan on going there anyway for now, so he wasn’t upset about it, and such information was likely worth quite a bit, so he also hadn’t been surprised when his request for information about it had been refused.
Then the second to last document was about the cultivation realms in Middle Heaven. There was the already known Breath Cultivation realm and it’s three sub-realms. Then the Elemental attunement realm, which had three sub-realms as well. All realms on the list had three sub-realms. Anyway, they were:
Elemental Spark: Practitioners begin to attune themselves to an element or more, and learn basic techniques associated with these elements.
Elemental Blaze: Practitioners deepen their attunement to the elements, and gain more advanced abilities and techniques. They will also start trying to understand the elements of their chosing.
Elemental Inferno: Practitioners achieve complete mastery over their element or elements, and can manifest it in incredible ways, such as creating entire landscapes or controlling natural disasters.
After the Elemental Attunement Realm was the Soul Alchemy Realm. Rather than simply cultivating their soul, practitioners in this system can engage in soul alchemy - the process of transforming and transmuting their spiritual essence. This was where the name got it’s name from.
Many simply opted to strengthen their soul some, and moved on to the next realm, sacrificing power, but saving time and effort.
Soul Forging: Practitioners begin the process of soul alchemy, and learn to identify and overcome weaknesses in their spiritual makeup.
Soul Refining: Practitioners either undergo intense rituals and challenges, which refine and purify their soul. Or they take the even slower route and refine and purify their soul manually, most practioners who decide to go the route of soul alchemy use a mixture of both.
Soul Transcendence: Practitioners achieve mastery over their soul, and can use their spiritual power to heal and uplift others and can use their soul to influence reality to a degree.
This mentioned uplifting often made it more difficult for the uplifted to advance further though, as they lacked the necessary control and understanding to use their abilities, some even die because of a lack of control.
But anyway, after that is Void Integration. This is often said to be the highest level of cultivation in the Middle Heavens. At this ‘highest level of cultivation’, practitioners can achieve Void Integration - the merging of their physical and spiritual selves with the infinite emptiness of the void. This allows them to manipulate space and time, resist the influence of dimensions, and even travel between different planes of existence.
Void Embrace: Practitioners begin to explore the mysteries of the void, and learn to enter deep states of meditation and introspection.
Void Fusion: Practitioners merge their consciousness with the void, and gain the ability to perceive and manipulate space and time.
Void Ascension: Practitioners achieve complete integration with the void, and can travel between different planes of existence and even create their own pocket dimensions, often also called secret realms.
For the last step, there are two different ways of ascension. The first being as if requesting immortality from the heavens, while the second is more along the lines of demanding it from oneself.
Celestial Ascension - the attainment of god-like power and immortality type 1. To achieve this, practitioners must overcome a series of cosmic trials and challenges, culminating in a final battle with the forces of chaos and entropy.
Starlight Initiation: Practitioners begin the process of celestial ascension, and must overcome a series of trials and challenges to prove their worthiness.
Celestial Radiance: Practitioners face even greater challenges, such as battling powerful demons and otherworldly beings.
Divine Ascension: Practitioners achieve immortality and god-like power, and are entrusted with protecting the balance of the universe itself.
And then the other option of Ascension.
Demonic Ascension: In this new cultivation realm, the ultimate goal is still the attainment of god-like power and immortality, but the path to achieve it is different. The practitioners do not go through trials but instead must delve into the darker aspects of their own psyche and confront their deepest fears and insecurities. This process is painful and often involves facing inner demons, but it grants them immense power.
Shadow Embrace: Practitioners begin their journey by confronting the darkest parts of themselves, facing their fears and insecurities. This is a painful process, but it grants them access to the power they denied themselves subconsciously.
Void Mastery: The practitioners delve deeper into the void within themselves, honing their mastery over it. They face the danger of being consumed by the void but emerge with great power.
Eclipse Awakening: Practitioners must face their ultimate fear, confronting the possibility of their own mortality. This is a dangerous and often deadly process, but those who survive emerge with god-like power, able to manipulate the very fabric of reality.
As for the last document, that was about boons, he had requested (read:required) that because while he had so called ‘common knowledge’ about it, common knowledge was often inaccurate or even wrong.
Boons, while from the general poluace seen as rare, were likely not rare at all, it was approximated that only 10% of humans had none. The percieved rarity came from the fact that some boons may be passive, or their effect percieved as normal by the person, or there was some condition for activation, or quite a few similar reasons.
Boons also were immutable, their effect would always come true, so long as the conditions were met. Boons also didn’t grow, in extremely rare cases they could mutate and become something different, but this mutation wasn’t always something positive, as the boon didn’t follow any human perceptions of what is useful and may mutate in a way that would ensure ones survival in the situation that caused the mutation, but may have consequences such as physical changes or a lack of control over the boon.
Imagine a boon that allows to produce poison, but it is active and takes stamina. To survive a situation the boon mutates to accommodate for lacking stamina by becoming a passive boon. But now you have the problem that you are always producing poison.