《Martial World》 01 - How I became A Cultivator and Didnt Know It To say I was displeased would be putting what I was feeling in the moment in the mildest of terms. Now don¡¯t get me wrong, nobody loves my mom more than me, except maybe my dad but she could be so infuriating at times. Like now, I was fuming as I was packing up what I was taking to college. Her excuse was that she didn¡¯t think I¡¯d win the scholarship when she signed up under my name; there were at least a million people who applied. I was planning on following in my father¡¯s footsteps as a forest management ranger. After all, he taught me everything he knew. However, that would have to wait until I failed this engineering course I was taking through this scholarship. The only good thing about this scholarship was that the dorm and utilities were completely free. Even that could backfire if I got a bad roommate. Who knows, maybe I could go to a sorority party and get laid. I laughed out loud at the absurd thought. Grabbing my hunting knife and throwing it in my duffle bag I was finished and ready to go. I never went anywhere without my knife; my father gave it to me when I turned ten. It seldom left my person and I was sad I wouldn¡¯t be allowed to carry it on my person on campus. I picked up my bag and walked to my door, I got the strangest feeling in my gut like I was afraid I wouldn¡¯t ever come back. I dismissed it quickly and walked into the hall closing the door behind me. ¡°Are you ready to go Cub?¡± asked my father from the end of the hall, he called me by my nickname I acquired in one of my past adventures. That¡¯s a story for another time. I nodded to my father as I walked to the main part of the house. He took my bag and headed out to the car. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll do just fine honey.¡± My mother said in an encouraging tone. I shook my head. ¡°Thanks, mom but you and I both know I don¡¯t have a mind for these things.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll do great all the same.¡± She replied, she smiled and hugged me. After a short goodbye, I went out to the car. My single bag had already been loaded. My father leaned on the car waiting for me to come out. ¡°Ready?¡± he asked as I came out of the house. ¡°As I¡¯ll ever be.¡± I sighed and got in the passenger¡¯s seat. It was a miserable 6-hour drive to the campus, my parents only had one car and I couldn¡¯t afford one so my father drove me to my new home. The campus had a dedicated bus on the city route to transportation wasn¡¯t a huge issue; I was still a long way from home in an unfamiliar place. I grabbed my bag, said my goodbyes to my father, and headed for the office. I was finally taken to my dorm and introduced to my roommate. My first impressions of him were not that great, to be honest. He wasn¡¯t a bad guy he was just weird. Maybe that¡¯s not the right word. Eccentric seemed to describe Trevor Arentino rather well. His dreadlocks and pale skin gave a strange contradiction. He was fairly decent once I got to know him. Four months after I entered college, things were going exactly as I expected. My grades were very low and I was failing. I wasn¡¯t stressing that much though, after all the scholarship was a full scholarship, meaning we never paid a cent for it. Trevor and I got to be pretty good friends during that time, I wasn¡¯t sure what he was even doing here, it didn¡¯t seem like he attended any classes, he spent most of his time online looking at obscure websites about myths and legends. He wasn¡¯t a slob though which I was relieved of, he kept his part of the dorm neat and tidy. I was sitting at my small desk finishing an assignment, I was distracted and it took me a while to finish. Once I did finish I crashed on my bed, a moment later a knock sounded on the door. I got up and opened the door, outside stood a delivery man holding a small package. ¡°Package for Argent Wolfram, please sign here.¡± He said as handed me a clipboard. As I signed I heard Trevor yell around the corner. ¡°Is that the pizza guy?¡± ¡°No, just a package,¡± I yelled back. I handed the clipboard back to the man and took the package. After closing the door I went to the table in the center of our dorm. Trevor came over as well, he looked puzzled. ¡°I didn¡¯t order anything, is it for you?¡± I nodded and took out a pocket knife to open the box. ¡°It¡¯s a birthday package,¡± I explained. My roommate raised a thick eyebrow. ¡°Dude that¡¯s awesome, when is your birthday?¡± ¡°Today¡± I replied, it was true. Today I had been alive for nineteen years in this harsh world. Quite the accomplishment I thought. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me, I will be right back,¡± Trevor replied before hurrying away in search of something. I opened the box and inside was a card and a small compass. This was my grandfather¡¯s compass, one of my dad¡¯s most prized possessions. I was surprised and very moved. My dad loved this compass almost as much as my mother and me. I opened up the card; it was an unadorned plain card. Happy birthday my boy, I know I¡¯m not there and I wish I was but work has been putting me through hell. Once my boss caught wind of me planning to retire he¡¯s been trying to squeeze every last bit of work out of me he can, I don¡¯t blame the guy for it though. It¡¯s been hard for the Department to get new employees, you know I¡¯m not one to brag but I¡¯m the best damn ranger they¡¯ve had in the last hundred years. And yes I am retiring; this job is getting to be too much for these old bones. On that note I thought you could use this little gift more than me, it was your grandfathers. He once claimed it gave him the luck of the gods, who knows, he might be right. That old compass has gotten me out of several sticky situations, and maybe it can help you now Cub. PS: If you lose it or break it my boot is going up your ass boy. I laughed at the PS at the bottom of the card; I picked up the compass and looked at it closely. Turning it over I see my grandfather¡¯s initials carved onto the back. The small needle never failed to point north, I smiled remembering the first time my father showed me this compass. A few seconds later Trevor came back into the room with a very old leather-bound book. It had no writing on the cover, just a plain marred cover. ¡°Happy birthday Argent!¡± Trevor said proudly. ¡°Thanks man, but what is it?¡± ¡°The guide to ultimate power,¡± Trevor replied, I couldn¡¯t tell if he was joking or high. Maybe both. I chuckled, picking up my things and walking to my room. Because of the scholarship, our dorm was huge compared to the other dorms; there were a kitchen and living room, and two closet-size bedrooms. My bedroom barely fits my bed and a shelf. I set the things on my shelf, taking the book and crashing on my bed. I opened the first page; on it was a diagram of a man executing some kind of martial arts move. I moved on to the writing, finding it was in a different language. I kept on going through the pages, seeing lots more martial arts moves, diagrams, and writing that I couldn¡¯t read. At the end of the book, there was a compartment, sitting inside it was a small pendant on a silver chain. The pendant was a green stone, now that was cool. I took it out and put it on. I hadn¡¯t realized I had spent the entire day looking at this book. I needed to get some sleep since I had a class in the morning.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. As I climbed the stairs to my dorm I realized that after the last six months since I had started I was beginning to get rather fat. When I first arrived I could climb these 4 flights of stairs without breathing heavily. Now I was panting and sweating, this was a problem. I was never a fitness nut, but I was always a very active person. So over the next week, I started building a workout routine, thank goodness the college had a gym for the students. At first, I did a mile run, fifty pull-ups, sit-ups, and push-ups, even just this was excruciating at first but as I regained my former athletic prowess it got to be rather easy. As I was running back to the dorm I remembered those martial art diagrams in the book from Trevor. I walked into the dorm to find Trevor hard at play again; he and one of his other buddies were playing a racing game on the TV. ¡°Have a good workout?¡± asked Trevor as he saw me walk in. ¡°Yeah, who¡¯s winning?¡± ¡°Him, you know I suck at racing games.¡± ¡°You''re still better than me, if you need to feel better about yourself I can race you later.¡± I joked. Trevor flipped me the bird causing his car to crash. I walked away chuckling. I walked to my room and grabbed my book off my shelf and flipped the first page where I last saw the first diagram. I nearly dropped the book in surprise when I realized I could understand the writing. I knew it wasn¡¯t in English but I could still read it like it was. When I finished reading the page I was shocked to find that this was part of a much bigger set of moves, but to properly execute these moves they have to be ingrained in your muscle memory. I went to the next page and read it. I was skeptical when it started explaining the way to move what the book refers to as inner energy around fictional pathways in the body. However, with nothing better to do at the moment, I decided to try it out. I sat down on my bed and crossed my legs, resting my hands on my knees. I began to breathe very deeply and slowly. Remembering the words in the book I tried to empty my mind and picture the energy from outside my body flowing into my skin and through the pathways seen in the diagram. I wasn¡¯t sure how long I had sat there but it was very calming, I decided to try to do this once a day even if the inner energy concept was BS. Emptying my mind again I pictured the energy flowing into me again. On instinct I pictured energy as lightning; suddenly I felt a small sensation traveling through the areas the diagram showed the pathways. ¡°What the hell?¡± I said quietly. I felt a buzz in my back pocket; I pulled out my phone and looked at the low battery notification. This had to be a coincidence since the human body can¡¯t pull electricity from things. Of that I was sure, I grabbed my laptop and tried to repeat what I had done. The laptop''s battery was at seventy-three percent, I started the process again. Picturing energy flowing into my body, this time it was faster. I opened my eyes and saw my laptop''s battery percentage draining visibly; it went all the way down to zero percent and died. As it died I felt the energy suddenly stop. ¡°Great, I am now a human battery,¡± I said, but I was incredibly excited. However I figured I probably shouldn¡¯t say anything to anyone, I¡¯d rather not become anyone¡¯s lab rat. I turned to another page in the book with a diagram for how to expel the energy I had collected. It explained that I could simply push it out of my body, into my muscles, or coat my body in it. I decided to start with the first example and just expel it. I realized that I could feel how much energy I had. I began guiding the energy along my arm to my fingertips; I saw small electrical arcs between my fingers. I felt the depletion of my energy, quickly stopping the flow of energy I started to feel my reserve filling back up. I wasn¡¯t sure how though, I checked my phone, the battery was still exactly where it had been earlier. I didn¡¯t feel the energy entering my body either. I wondered if there were other types of energy. The book didn¡¯t mention different types of energy; it did mention that meditating in energy-rich areas. Maybe different places had different energies, this led to another idea: If I can absorb electricity then maybe I can absorb or control other energies as well. I decided to test this; I went out to the kitchen and opened the freezer. After ten minutes and Trevor yelling at me to close the door, I figured that wouldn¡¯t work. I sat down on the couch and watched the movie Trevor was watching. During the movie a particular line made me freeze. Force, how did I forget that? Not the mythical controlling force of a galaxy far away, but kinetic energy. Anything moving has kinetic energy, which is generated by movement. I jumped up with a grin and rushed to my room to grab my book. Getting the book I threw on my shoes and rushed to the door, leaving a bewildered Trevor sitting on the couch. Unknowingly I directed energy down into my legs; I barely remember that I took the stairs five at a time when I reached the roof. I wasn¡¯t even out of breath; I immediately opened the book to the first page. I began to execute the two simple punches in the diagram. As I did so I started trying to absorb the kinetic energy, the force generated by my moving fists. I started to feel the flow of energy; I directed the new energy towards my arms. I nearly lost rhythm when the amount of energy I was gathering increased exponentially. I started channeling more energy to my arms and again the amount I gathered increased. Was this cheating? The more energy I expended the more I received. I added an hour of energy absorption to my workout routine. An hour after my discovery I walked down to the end of the hall the communal bathrooms. As I walked past a mirror I nearly slipped on the wet floor, I was ripped. I knew that shouldn¡¯t be possible, but it wasn¡¯t the strangest thing to happen to me recently. I showered and walked back to my room, too lazy to put my shirt back on. As I walked in Trevor turned the corner and both the book he was holding and his jaw dropped. ¡°Dude! Since when in the hell did you have an eight-pack?¡± he asked. I shrugged and walked past him to my room. I lay down on my bed and fell asleep. Two months after my discovery of kinetic energy, things had been pretty normal. Except for the fact that somehow even without using any inner energy I could lift four-hundred lbs. with each arm, at the same time. I had taken to using the gym at night since it was empty most of the time. People started looking at me like a freak when I lifted two-hundred lbs. under each arm. I had kept absorbing kinetic energy and I could do some pretty amazing things, which is why I¡¯m here now in the nearly abandoned port section of my city. I was walking through the warehouses with my senses fully extended. I had begun to be able to identify different types of energy after I had absorbed enough of it. On my way home from researching at the library for a paper I had to write, I felt a small amount of unknown energy be absorbed. I decided to test it out and released a tiny amount of it. A second later I somehow ended up on the roof of my dorm in an instant. I realized this was spatial energy, I had briefly considered how to find it but I didn¡¯t think it would be so easy. So here I was the next day following the hints of spatial energy. I weaved through rusting metal buildings and climbed over piles of garbage and scrap. ¡°How are we gonna get in there?¡± I heard a gruff voice ask. I quickly hid around a corner as two men in suits passed by. I had a funny feeling these men were here for the same reason I was. I tailed them as best I could, they didn¡¯t seem to be very cautious. ¡°We need to get a hold of that meteor; readings said it might be dangerous.¡± Said the other man. I nearly tripped over an aluminum can as I followed them. They arrived at a warehouse that looked exactly like the ones around it. What the hell was going on? The men tried to open the door, unsuccessful one man said he would be back with a tool. The other man walked around the corner and I heard the sound of liquid hitting the ground, disgusting. I channeled kinetic energy into my whole body and jumped, the great thing about kinetic energy, or force as I¡¯ve taken to calling it, is that it generates motion and lets me control the direction the motion is going. In this case, up. I right as I clear the roof I let the energy return to its place in my core and step smoothly onto the roof. I notice a window in the center of the roof and I walk above it. The spatial energy gets stronger as I approach, kneeling I look through the dirty glass. Unable to see anything I see if there is a way inside. I notice the window can be opened but it¡¯s locked with a padlock. I channel electrical energy to my fingertips; I use my finger like a cutting torch and burn through the lock. As I hoped it was relatively quiet and the man waiting outside the building wasn¡¯t alerted. I open the window and look down. The warehouse is filled with clutter; however, I think I found what I¡¯m looking for. On a worktable on a platform in a corner of the warehouse is a glowing oval object. I channel the spatial energy and focus on a spot in front of the table. Letting the energy out, I find myself in that spot instantly. I grin at the implications of this new ability, even though I have no freaking clue how it works. I know I don¡¯t have much time so I rush to the work table and pick up the object. I don''t have any time to examine it since I hear the two men at the door trying to break in. I use my new ability again and appear on the roof of the warehouse. I hear the door open below me with a loud screech. I need to get out of here; I take the last of my spatial energy and picture my dorm building¡¯s roof. 02 - And So The Adventure Begins, Also System(Sorta) I sat on my dorm building''s roof as I absorbed spatial energy from the object I totally didn''t steal. It seemed to be fairly easy to use, but I figured there had to be more to it. Portals maybe? Would I need to have an understanding of the science of wormholes or something? It wasn''t like there was a guide or manual to these abilities, I channeled my spatial energy and teleported three feet to my left. It seemed that teleportation at least was intent controlled. And that I have to know the place exists or have been there before. So did I have to have been to that place before? Was it a visual power, do I have to see my target? I closed my eyes and tried to teleport myself to the top of the Eiffel tower, which I had never been to before. Holy hell! That''s good to know, my core hurts if a teleport fails. I pulled out my phone and looked up a picture from the top of the Eiffel tower. I tried to teleport again, this time I landed on a very small platform high above Paris, France. About an hour later I teleported back to the roof of my dorm, the sunset above Paris was pretty incredible. Wait, I know I can teleport myself but what about objects? Or even other people? I looked around for something besides my phone, I didn''t really want to experiment with that. I quickly found an old glass bottle, is this a Lite? Wow, this dude had bad taste. I held the bottle out in front of me and brought my empty hand up next to it. I channeled spatial energy and tried to teleport the bottle to my other hand. I didn''t have any idea what I was doing. The only thing I could think to do was picture the bottle moving from one hand to the other. To my surprise, my bumbling actually gave me what I wanted. The bottle moved to my other hand, I realized the teleport made no noise or any other kind of emission. This was highly beneficial for me, I didn''t really want to be discovered. In most books I had read the main character usually shares his powers with his best friend and it usually backfires on him later, so asking Trevor was out of the question. I don''t want problems later. How was I gonna figure this out myself, or without arousing suspicion? I wasn''t sure, then I had an idea. An old friend of mine loved making tabletop game campaigns. We even made a few together that won awards for the best gaming campaign at our local nerd¡¯s pub. There were quite a few entries as well, but that''s beside the point. What if I gave him a call and asked him for help on a new campaign? It could work, maybe I ask him how I could implement a new magic system for the players, and ask questions focused around spatial magic. This might just work. I got up and raced through the door to the stairwell, vaulting over the railing. I dropped two stories to my floor and grabbed the railing of my floor. I pulled myself over the railing without any effort and rushed down the hall. I was using Kinetic energy to create upward force making my steps so light they were soundless. In a dash that would have certainly beaten an Olympic sprinter, I reached my dorm at the end of the hall in under a second. The nice thing about having Kinetic energy control is that I don''t have to gradually slow down, I can come to a stop in a literal instant. Doing exactly that, I open the door to my dorm and quietly make my way to my room. Trevor is passed out on the couch so I quietly close my door and get the book. Sitting down with my legs crossed I opened the next page of the book, there wasn''t much there. Just a circle with some kind of formation inside, and the words: Follow The Light, Give Haste Your Sight. What the hell was this, I hated riddles. I stared at the diagram for a moment and suddenly a small glowing dot began tracing the pattern. What was going on? I followed the light with my eyes for a while. When I looked away everything suddenly seemed strangely quiet. I went to drop the book on my bed and as soon as I let go I almost shit myself. It fell in slow motion, not just half speed or something like that. It almost wasn''t moving at all. Follow The Light, Give Haste Your Sight. So that diagram increased my perception speed, but how was the rest of me moving so fast? I stood up and felt an almost unnoticeable drain on my energy. I walked out of my room, as soon as I opened the door I felt an insane surge of kinetic energy from the door. I let go of the door and it kept moving very slowly, I realized that because I was moving so fast I was putting out a lot of force on things I touched. I quickly absorbed the Kinetic energy from the door as well as the air around me. I walked out of the room and closed the door behind me. I noticed my body felt a lot lighter than usual, when I took a small step in the hall I went twenty feet. I slowly and carefully walked up to the roof of the dorm building. I used about a quarter of my kinetic energy to punch out with my fist, the fist was so fast even I couldn''t see it. I did however feel an insane flood of kinetic energy flow to my core, in one movement I doubled the amount of power I had before. This really felt like cheating, what was happening to me? And why me of all people? So many people would use this better than me. But there were people who would use it for bad things as well, so I should be glad whatever this was didn''t go to someone like that. And how could I be sure someone else didn''t have powers like these? I had them, so it was certainly possible. If there were others who had similar or even the same powers I did then I had better be as strong as possible. I started training and even studying in this state of enhanced perception for the next few months. It helped me out considerably since I could study for any assignment in under a few seconds of actual time. How long it felt to me was irrelevant for my sudden straight A¡¯s. After a week of passing every assignment with an A+, a female student approached me after class as I was about to head back to my dorm. ¡°Excuse me, I noticed you get really good grades and I was wondering if you could help me out with this next assignment,¡± she said. I looked over and raised an eyebrow. I think her name was Sandra, but I wasn''t sure since I didn''t talk to anyone here. I had taken to wearing a large hoodie since I drew quite a lot of attention from my large build. I seriously wasn''t trying to get this ripped but the more I trained and the more energy I got the more muscles started forming. I was still wiry but every inch of my chest, arms, legs, and neck was muscle. I already had an eight pack and I was beginning to think another set was on its way. Was that even possible? Anyways, back to the surprisingly hot girl in front of me. ¡°Why me?¡± I asked, my voice in its new somewhat deep baritone. I was surprised to wake up a few days ago to the change in my voice. I passed it off to Trevor as my voice was hoarse and tried to speak as little as possible. It doesn''t matter so much right now but I still take caution. I notice a small hint of surprise in her eyes but it vanishes quickly. ¡°Because you have good grades, and because all the others who get grades like yours are super popular and are huge assholes,¡± she said. I didn''t really want to do it but I also wasn''t an asshole. ¡°Let¡¯s go to the library and see how hopeless you are,¡± I said and turned around. I heard a pouting noise behind me. Arriving at the library I tutored my new student for about an hour, making sure she would pass the assignment. I stood up from the table and made to leave but Sandra stopped me. ¡°Wait, let me buy you lunch or something as a thank you for your help,¡± she said. I wasn''t hungry, and I had training to do. I was gonna try some experiments I had been thinking about for a few days now, the first was channeling energy to the brain, and the second was combining the different energies I had together. I was hoping for some interesting discoveries. I had done a little bit of research, mainly from cultivation stories, I know maybe not the most accurate of sources but I wasn''t exactly sure where else to turn. ¡°I¡¯ve got work to do,¡± I said and headed out of the library, I walked around the side of the building. I had a suspicion that Sandra was following me, I sped up and the rest of the world slowed to a stop. I walked around the corner and I was right, she was indeed following me. I wasn''t sure why and I didn''t want any kind of confrontation. I just stood there for a moment, the world amazingly quiet. There was no sound, complete, and utter silence. I found it was quite enjoyable, I decided to not confront her about it and simply leave. When she walked around the corner I just wouldn''t be there. I felt kinda lazy that day so I simply teleported back to the dorm building roof. It was time to start on my experiments, I suddenly had an idea. My brain is just a bunch of electrical signals, right? What if I added more power to my brain, more specifically electricity? The possibility of frying my brain was quite high, but the potential in it seemed astronomical. I slowed back down to normal speed and walked normally down the stairs. I went over to an outlet in the hall and placed my hand over it, I could feel the electricity flowing through the building. I pulled a little bit towards me, the lights in the hall dimmed. It seemed my definition of a little bit changed because of the sheer amount of other energies I possessed. A moment later I stood up again and went back up the roof, I sat down cross-legged and began to very slowly move the electrical energy up to my brain. As soon as it reached the brain stem I suddenly felt a flood of energy being pulled towards my head. A few seconds later I blacked out.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. When I woke up I was still on the roof, but it was dark outside. Pitch black, I stood up and stepped over an old bottle. Wait how did I know that was there? I couldn''t see it. I stopped for a moment and then a sudden influx of information nearly made me pass out again. I somehow knew everything that was happening around me, from the poor guy in my class 3 floors down sleeping on his homework to the two college girls who were in their rooms in front of webcams. The man in the front of the line at the burger joint two streets over was ordering four cheeseburgers, and three people were coming up to the roof right now with three unopened bottles of strong liquor. One male two female. I stayed still and started trying to focus on specific things. It seemed like the range was around a mile, and I had to tune a lot of things out of my conscious mind otherwise I would pass out. This was amazing though, now could I limit it to specific things. Like sensing the ill intent of something? Suddenly most of the information was cut off, and I realized I was feeling all of the ill intent within a mile. It was a vile feeling. Maybe just ill intent aimed at me? Then there was nothing. No ill intent was aimed at me. In the back of my mind, I could still see everything around me, and that was incredibly useful. I sat back down at the edge of the roof cross-legged as the door opened. I wanted to try something, it seemed like I could feel other people''s emotions? Maybe I could manipulate them, or maybe mind control? I wasn''t sure but I wanted to find out. I am not here, you do not see me. I thought it in my mind and tried to broadcast the intention. The door to the roof opened and the three walked quietly onto the roof. The guy scanned the roof and his eyes went right through me, after looking over the whole roof. ¡°Well ladies, it looks like we are alone,¡± he said. At that line, I knew what was coming next so I quickly hopped off the ledge, falling the six stories to the ground, and landed silently. I decided to call what I was doing Blind Spot for convenience. To other people, I simply wasn''t here. I kept walking along the sidewalk towards the store, I didn''t usually drink but I needed a beer. Two blocks later I opened the door of my favorite hangout, The Nerd pub. This place was a weird mix of booze and tabletop games. Game masters got free drinks for hosting their campaigns at the pub, and the owner often joined in as well. Everybody was friendly here, though there were some heated debates about who was a better Enterprise captain. I walked in to see the pub packed to the brim, it looked like a tournament was happening. I decided not to stay and walked back out. I was walking home when I felt an intense pain in my neck, then I blacked out. ¡°How is he still alive? We used a fifty on him. Hit him right in the neck, and he''s barely bruised.¡± ¡°We still don''t know what this new energy¡¯s effects are, but I think this is one of them.¡± ¡°I¡¯m reading some insane brain activity from the subject, it''s almost like he is using half his brain.¡± ¡°Even when he¡¯s unconscious?¡± ¡°Yes sir, this man could be the next breakthrough in human evolution. He is tougher, smarter, and most likely both faster and stronger than regular humans.¡± ¡°The human brain can''t stand up to an AI as advanced as ours, get the headset on him and make sure he is under our control. We cannot lose this asset.¡± I groggily opened my eyes as something was lowered onto my head. I tried to make sense of what the people were saying, the only thing I knew for sure was that I had been found out. I had been careless, I wasn''t sure how they had caught me but I didn''t have time to figure it out because I felt a tidal wave of pain wrack my brain. I could feel an unknown, cold, and mechanical presence in my mind. I immediately began fighting back with all my might. ¡°He''s fighting the AI somehow!¡± a voice said. I kept fighting, a flash of surprise nearly made me lose the fight with whatever this was. Something was forming inside my skull, at the very center of my brain. The crystalline thing seemed to form from my brain itself. Was that circuitry forming on it? It was beautiful to look at, intricate lines carved their way into the now marble-sized crystal in the center of my head. The burden of fighting the presence began to lessen itself. A moment later the intruder was gone. ¡°Sir the AI¡¯s fail-safes are being deleted, it''s taking over the base!¡± a voice yelled. ¡°Cut the power!¡± ¡°Never-mind sir, the AI deleted itself.¡± came the reply. ¡°Years of wasted resources, this is a huge blow to the country. At least we still have the subject.¡± it was at this moment I decided I should probably leave. I channeled energy to my arms and snapped the metal restraints and looked around the white room. Several technicians stared at me wide-eyed. ¡°Subject is free!¡± one of them yelled. They all ran towards a door, once they all got through one of them pushed a button. Alarms blared and the huge door began to close. I ran towards the door, vaulting over lab equipment and making it through the door right as it was about to close. I was about to teleport back to the dorm when arrows appeared on the floor beneath me, pointing down the hallway. What''s happening? Was I hallucinating now? Not hallucinating, go. A voice said. I flinched in surprise but decided to follow the arrows. What are you? I am artificial intelligence, I was made for complex equations and prediction and discovery. I was assimilated into your mind via an unknown process. Well, that was helpful, what do these arrows lead too? Our escape route, Item #427. I can teleport, isn''t that good enough? Readings indicate this device will transport us off the earth entirely, the final destination is unknown. However, no-where on earth is safe for you now. Those words sent an ice-cold shock down my spine. I followed the arrows through hallways, dodging panicked scientists. It seemed there weren''t that many guards in whatever this place was. The arrows stopped in front of a massive set of blast doors, I channeled half of my kinetic energy into one massive kick. The door blew inwards and I rushed inside, I could feel the energy from the object. I rushed up to it, punching the containment barrier I picked up a metal cuff with a green gem in the center. I put it on, and I could feel it pulsing. The pulses were steadily getting faster. Estimated time of transport: 30¡­ 29¡­ 28¡­ I sped up to my max speed and immediately teleported to the dorm building roof. Unexpectedly, your brain''s processing speed is extreme for a human. Thanks. It was light out so I had been gone for at least a day maybe more. I rushed through the door and down to my room, I grabbed the book and the mysterious object. Then I rushed back up the roof, leaping up the rails to the door. I got back up to the roof and slowed back down. The gem on the cuff began to glow, the AI finished counting down and I was violently pulled into a swirling purple vortex. The spatial energy was overwhelming here and I absorbed as much of it as I could. I looked ahead and saw a white light at the end of the tunnel. I rushed towards it in what felt like an eternity and an instant at the same time. I was launched through the light into a bright blue sky above a land so vast it took my breath away. This might not be so bad I thought as I smiled. 03 - A Big Fall and Bigger Shock Mountains so large I could only see the peaks from this height scraped the sky to my left, farther into the mountain range I could see a volcano even bigger than the rest spewing smoke and ash into the sky. A large plateau came into view underneath me, I couldn¡¯t yet see what was below, a thick layer of clouds obscured my view. Grassy plains dotted with thickets of small trees covered the landscape. I was falling fast but I was so high up it was taking a long time to get down. A small lake sat in the center of the plains, the glare from its reflective waters making me squint even from this high up. As I approached the ground I channeled kinetic energy and slowed my fall, landing like a leaf on the soft grass in a large open space. I stood in the soft grass looking out at my new reality. It really could be worse. My priority was finding my basic needs, food, water, and shelter. Remembering the lake I had seen I headed in that general direction, hoping the water was drinkable. The air was cool and crisp, it almost tasted sweet. I breathed deep, it was intoxicating. A sudden realization hit me like a freight truck. I expanded my energy senses and fell on my knees at the sheer amount of energy in the air. I greedily began to absorb the energy, I could see a massive vortex forming around me, it kept expanding. Hundred feet, six hundred yards, half a mile, two miles. The vortex stopped around ten miles wide and I felt the most insane pleasure from every part of my body, this energy was rather strange because it wasn''t some kind of element. It was pretty much pure energy going straight into nourishing me. I took the book out from the inside of my jacket where I had stashed it. I randomly flipped through pages as I absorbed energy. I stopped on a particular page that caught my interest. It read as such. Realms are the stages of power achieved after breaking through mortality. Realms are determined by the color of users'' aura and aura thickness. The thicker the aura the more powerful. White: Core Formation, Red: Solid Core, Blue: Embodiment, Green: Soul Formation Stage, Silver: Nascent Soul, Gold: Sage, Purple: Immortal. The last and final realm is not just a measure of power, but a sign of your understanding of the world¡¯s laws and your ability to bend them to your will. Black: Singularity. It is unknown what comes after the Singularity Realm. I gazed into my own body only to find I didn''t have a core. So was I not even past the mortal stage yet? How did I use my aura? So far everything else had been just thinking about it. Busy in my thoughts the AI in my head alerted me to what was happening around me. Look. I did and noticed massive black illusory flames swirling around me for nearly a hundred yards. So apparently I was at the Singularity Realm, I wasn''t gonna bet on me being that powerful yet, if it was so easy to achieve this Realm there had to be many people who had achieved this. I realized I hadn''t actually seen any signs of civilization yet, but the scale of this place seemed to be massive so maybe I was just in the middle of nowhere or something. I decided it wasn''t of any concern to me yet, I should be able to survive out here just fine. Two days later I had a small one-room cabin built, and my enhanced senses made hunting all too easy. I had begun making new clothes out of skins, at first it was a bit of a learning curve but I learned. The creatures here seemed to be predators for the most part but they all fled as soon as they saw me, maybe it had something to do with the fact that I was in the singularity Realm. Animals often sensed things humans did not. The animals here didn''t seem particularly strong, they were slow and most claws and teeth couldn''t even hurt me. A few left small scratches that healed right away, the lake water was drinkable and quite amazing in taste. I had discovered that the water was also filled with energy, water energy. This world had elemental energy all around. After I discovered water, it didn''t take me long to find Fire, Air, and Earth as well. I also found more fighting techniques in the book, as well as ways to use each of the elemental energies. I started to train in these, every day and often through the night. Only stopping every six days to eat some energy-rich foods from the beasts that roamed the plateau. Once every three weeks, I would venture away from my home to explore. I saw many new plants and animals, nothing that was any sort of threat though. I never went past the edge of the plateau, I didn''t think I was ready to face the truly strong creatures or people the place had to offer Two years went by in relative peace, if not for the AI in my head counting the days I wouldn''t have realized I had been here that long. I had never strayed from my routine for these last two years, and I could certainly see the improvement in my skills. It took me a while but I finally figured out I could control what level of aura I released, so I often fought with the beasts to sharpen my fighting instincts. This wasn''t something I would have done on earth but here I didn''t know what to expect so I had to be ready for anything. Now though, I felt I was indeed ready. I was ready to face what this world had to offer. Looking down at my reflection in the lake, someone I almost didn''t recognize stared back at me. I had lost all body fat I once had, I used to have somewhat of a babyface, but that was gone. Replaced by the handsome bastard I now saw. I grinned, back on earth I would''ve been a real lady killer but here I wasn''t so sure. My eyes were what had changed the most, they were now a deep purple. I was confused as to why my eyes color would change but whatever. I packed my only two possessions from the earth, my clothes long since destroyed into an animal skin bag. I also put some rations and spare clothes as well. I went shirtless most of the time but it might get cold so I brought one anyway. With everything ready, I locked up my cabin and started walking across the plateau away from the mountains.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. My journey was rather uneventful so far, I had passed through forests, marshlands, and finally a dessert. I had seen all sorts of creatures, many of which seemed intelligent. When I passed by a dark-colored panther it bowed its head and stepped back into the shadows. Many other animals had the same reaction upon seeing me. That was until I was about four months into my journey, the trees were getting significantly smaller and beasts dumber. At this point, they were stronger versions of earth animals with a few exceptions. Like this slime in front of me. It was just a blob of goo rolling its way through the forest. It was kind of amusing to watch this thing, I followed it silently while concealing my aura entirely. What an amusing little creature, it ambles about without purpose or direction. I nearly laughed out loud when it rolled right off a small outcropping a few feet high. The sound it made when it landed made me finally laugh out loud. ¡°Who''s there?!¡± a voice shouted. The slime somehow hearing the voice dashed with surprising speed for a blob towards the sound. A young woman jumped out of the brush with a sword and shield to meet it. The blue blob bounced like a rubber ball towards its target: the Woman. Or maybe a girl? She seemed a lot younger than I first thought. She raised her shield making the slime bounce backward. The girl rushed forwards aiming for a small floating object in the blob cutting it in half. So slime''s had a core, and a precise attack could break it, killing the slime. Good to know, I had always just thrown the slime at something so hard it was pretty much vaporized. But this was good to know in case I ever had to blend in. I sat down at the edge of the outcropping the slime had fallen off, putting myself out in the open to make myself known. ¡°Amusing little creatures aren''t they?¡± I asked, startling the stranger. She whirled around and held up her shield in a defensive stance. I had to commend her reflexes. ¡°Who are you?¡± she asked, her words dripping in suspicion. I shrugged. ¡°A weary and admittedly very lost traveler, would you be so kind as to point me in the direction of the nearest good meal and a bed?¡± I asked with a sheepish grin, I was trying to be polite. No need to make enemies right away. She seemed to relax a little bit but still kept her weapon up. ¡°The nearest town is a day''s travel on foot.¡± she paused while looking at me with narrowed eyes. ¡°How is a weakling with no aura this deep in the forest?¡± ¡°A lot of luck, running, and hiding,¡± I replied, bowing my head in mock embarrassment. Finally, the girl seemed to let most of her guard down, now the earlier suspicion was replaced by disgust. Whatever for? ¡°Why do not even have a weapon on you?¡± she asked. Oh, that made sense. ¡°Lost it,¡± I said with a small shrug. She nodded while sheathing her sword and mounting her small shield on her back. ¡°You may accompany me back to my camp, traveling at night is dangerous,¡± she said, turning around and adopting a brisk pace into the forest. I followed her, keeping pace quite easily. ¡°I told you why I¡¯m out here, but what about you?¡± I asked her. She strained her neck up to look at me, she was quite short. ¡°Collecting monster parts for the alchemy guild,¡± she replied, her tone making it apparent she didn''t want to speak further. I followed her quietly for about twenty minutes until we reached the edge of a clearing. In the said clearing was a militaristic style camp, many people in armor busily going about tasks to keep the camp in order. Two soldiers rushed towards us. ¡°Commander, Lieutenant Cullen and the woodsman have returned.¡± one soldier said with a salute. The girl next to me nodded, then gestured to me. ¡°He will be accompanying us back to Jericho,¡± she said. The men saluted and gave my cursory glances. Both assumed a surprised look but didn''t say anything. They probably noticed I don''t have an aura. I was taken to a small tent, given a meal and a spare dagger someone had. I thanked them and ate my food, I was a little disappointed. The energy was much less concentrated here than at my plateau home. Boy was I glad I could teleport. 04 - Being People Is Hard The tent had been nice, it had rained. So the girl I met was the commander of this camp? How did that work? And how strong was she? Were all questions I had, and I figured the only way to answer them was to ask. Should I ask her or one of her soldiers, or just forget it and stay as mysterious as possible. I decided on the latter, making as little contact as possible was good at least until I knew the customs of this new world. Being able to communicate was a big plus, I wasn''t sure how but I knew that this was the same language as in my book. Well, it was comforting to know I wouldn''t be one of those isekai mains who can speak but can''t read the new language. I was fiddling with a stick out of boredom when shouts caught my attention, I poked my head out of my tent to see soldiers gearing up for battle. The grim atmosphere was palpable and giving the soldiers serious scowls. Auras were on full display, I was shocked to find that these guys were weak, the soldiers were all varying levels of Core Formation. Their white auras proudly on display, there was one red aura, with my third sight I saw it was the girl from the previous day. Also with my third sight, I could see an approaching force, most of them Core Formation as well, except one. This exception was at the Embodiment stage. This was the perfect chance to observe a fight between this world''s people. I stood behind a stack of wood and watched the girls soldiers form a defensive line before the tree line. The girl ran out of her tent sword and shield in hand. A tense moment later a man followed by about thirty soldiers walked out of the trees. His blue aura shining dimly, was he seriously proud of being that weak? ¡°You knew what would happen if you ran.¡± the man said, I was getting serious asshole vibes from this guy. Probably a noble, that also might be true for the girl. I still didn''t know her name. ¡°I will never marry you Dohnav.¡± The girl stated in a proud voice. But I could tell from the grim expression she knew she would lose this fight. ¡°You don¡¯t have a choice, your father sold you to save his precious school for poor kids.¡± the man laughed. The girl grimaced and gripped her sword tighter. What the hell is this clich¨¦ BS I¡¯m hearing?! This is the plot of basically every isekai story ever. I facepalmed, I couldn''t help it. Oops, everyone was so quiet they heard me. The girl was glaring at me, the man was looking at me in distaste. ¡°You planning to elope with that weakling?¡± he asked with a sneer. Yep, total ass. ¡°He''s a traveler that needed help, he has nothing to do with this.¡± the girl said. The man shrugged. ¡°If you hadn''t run I would''ve spared the lives of your troops, but you ran.¡± the man snarled. The girl flinched. ¡°They have families, spare them.¡± the girl said, finally breaking down. I knew it was coming. They always give up at some point. The man grinned and began to walk forward. He was taking great pleasure in this, he stopped in front of her. His smile turned sadistic as he backhanded the kneeling girl into the tent next to me. Damn, that had to have been twenty yards. The tent crashed inwards as she landed in it, blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. Her eyes seemed devoid of the hardness that was there the first time I saw her. What is wrong with you? Pull yourself together. Ugh, I was gonna have to take care of this, if you want something done right then do it yourself. But wait, did I really want to? I¡¯m not a bad person I promise but this isn¡¯t really my fight. I groaned audibly, I didn''t want to leave all those families without fathers. I knew how great mine had been to have around. Fine.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. I looked up at the arrogant prick grinning at the girl, he noticed me looking at him. ¡°What is it mortal? Angry?¡± he mocked. Mortal? What''s this guy''s issue? I rolled my eyes and looked down at the girl. ¡°You owe me for this,¡± I stated, her expression changed only slightly, but the confusion was evident enough. I looked back at the man only to realize he had been screaming at me since my eye roll gesture. ¡°I¡¯ll kill you insect.¡± he roared when he saw I was paying attention to him once more. I looked at him and grinned also like an arrogant prick. He screamed in rage, shouting obscenities into the sky. While he was wasting time I released my aura at the Embodiment stage, except instead of his little wisps, I had massive illusory flames of blue fire surrounding me. The man looked back at me ready to charge but froze when he saw my aura. ¡°I don¡¯t know who you are calling mortal but it¡¯s pretty obvious you have no room to be insulting your betters,¡± I said and teleported next to him, how is he still alive? His reaction times are so slow. Before he could even show surprise I grabbed him by the throat. The fear in his eyes was priceless. ¡°Threatening families is just evil, people seek out evil and destroy it,¡± I said with a grin. ¡°You are evil.¡± ¡°N-N-No! p-please don¡¯t k-kill me.¡± and like that the arrogant little prick standing so proudly before was reduced to sputtering trash. Disgusting. I jerked my hand and snapped his neck in one quick motion. His men flinched at the sound, then once again as I tossed the lifeless body aside. I had never killed anyone before but I surprisingly felt nothing. It was similar to finishing a boring chore. I might have an answer to your query, scan indicates that your mind functions more like a computer than a normal human, resulting in not feeling guilt for something that doesn''t deserve it. I certainly approve of this change. Interesting, thank you, AI. ¡°So I take it he¡¯s a nobles son?¡± I asked the dead man''s troops, I got nods in return. ¡°Go tell his father he picked a fight he shouldn''t have and that he died a coward''s death,¡± I said. The soldiers ran back into the trees. I looked back at the girl, she was staring at me in shock. I reigned my aura back to its usual nonexistence. ¡°You can¡¯t be much older than me, how are you so strong?¡± she asked. I was only nineteen. ¡°How old are you?¡± I asked. ¡°Twenty-six,¡± she replied quietly. ¡°You?¡± ¡°Nineteen,¡± I said and crossed my arms. ¡°WHAT?!¡± she shouted. I shrugged as she groaned. I guess gaining power took people a lot of time? I wasn''t sure but she owed me now and I wasn''t gonna let that go easily. 05 - Boredom Is A B*tch ¡°You don¡¯t look like your twenty-six, maybe sixteen but even that¡¯s stretching it.¡± I chuckled. ¡°That''s the first thing you point out?!¡± the girl shrieked. Jeez, could you be any louder? ¡°Who was that guy?¡± I asked. ¡°Some sort of noble or royalty maybe?¡± ¡°The son of the lord of Sycarthia City.¡± She answered. ¡°I am the third daughter of the house of Ratham. You may call me Sarissa. Now, who are you? I wasn''t aware of any other Embodiment stage warriors in the area.¡± She crossed her arms and glared at me. This brought up the question of how much I wanted to tell. I wasn''t going to tell everyone I was from another world, maybe I just say grew up in the forest? No, I had a hunch that would make them even more suspicious. I decided my best bet was to simply say I wasn''t from around here and not a word more. ¡°I¡¯m just a nobody who¡¯s not from around here.¡± I lied. The girl seemed to believe me, though the suspicion from my vague answer was still there. ¡°My name¡¯s Argent, of house Wolfram.¡± I may as well have some fun with this, I doubted there was any harm in stating my family name. Being mistaken as noble might be beneficial and if it backfires then I can simply teleport back to the plateau and start in another direction. The girl looked at me curiously. ¡°I haven''t heard of house Wolfram,¡± she admitted. ¡°Enough about that though, it seems I owe you. Though his father will surely try to avenge him, I fear even you won¡¯t survive his wrath. He is at the Soul Formation Stage and is quite ruthless towards the people. The Ratham House used to rule the city but my father was challenged by the current leader and lost.¡± So the strongest one rules, interesting to be sure. I knew I should refrain from taking any more rash actions, letting our attacker¡¯s men go was too risky to do again. Testing my strength was a priority. However, being discreet about my abilities was a good idea. This world was completely unfamiliar, and so were my powers. Laying low was safe and safe is good I thought. I knew I was forgetting something, oh yeah. Blind Spot. The one ability I hadn¡¯t tested against people other than regular humans. Though I had tested it against beasts in the forest and though they became more alert the closer I got they never actually found me. They always looked through me at the surrounding terrain for a threat. Though I would have to save testing out Blind Spot for another opportunity. I had a plan and I was ready to execute it. ¡°Hey, Sarissa I¡¯m going on ahead. I¡¯ll meet you in the city.¡± I yelled towards her as I broke out into a run. Letting them go no matter how bad-ass it had felt at the time was a stupid move. Luckily for me, I could still fix my blunder. Once I had gone far enough down the road to be out of sight on the camp I took off at full speed in the direction my now prey had run. There were very obvious tracks I was following at super speed. They were in a hurry. I did have to commend them on their loyalty to such a rotten waste of a master. The trail veered off into the treeline, but still incredibly obvious due to trampled vegetation. I switched to jumping between the large branches of trees clearing thirty-foot gaps like cracks in a sidewalk. I felt my inner ten-year-old weeb coming out as I put my arms back and ran through the treetops like a certain young ninja from an anime I used to watch. Believe it! I chuckled as I came upon the group stampeding through the underbrush. Or would be if I had been moving slower but I was moving so fast they were almost stationary. Now would be the perfect time to test whether I could teleport multiple objects, and without touching them. I perched myself on a large limb of a tree and pictured a place deep in the forest I had seen about two months before I arrived near civilization. It would take them a very long time to get back. Provided they weren''t eaten. The group disappeared leaving only their trail to this point. I should have let them lead me within sight of the city first. I facepalmed. Oh well, I can just extend my perception field. Closing my eyes and opening my other senses I could see a city a few miles from my location. I wasn''t sure of cardinal directions for this world or if there was even such a thing here. I activated Blind Spot just in case and took to the skies for the first time in a while. Flying is every kid''s dream and it truly is as amazing as I thought it would be when I was a little kid. Whoever thought I would be able to fly? Not me but I won''t complain. The city came into sight as I landed on the ground and ran full speed through the forest to the treeline of the clearing around the city. I slowed down to a walk once out of the trees, heading for the city gates. I walked up the road passing people waiting to go into the city. Sycarthia seemed pretty large. I would guess around twenty thousand inhabitants and seemed to be divided by a class system. Once inside the circular outer walls, there seemed to be four other rings each elevated by status. The outer ring looked like mostly slums and peasants, while the next ring up was a shopping and craftsman district. The next level up seemed like it was only for nobility, with splendid manors and maintained gardens. After that came the smallest ring in the very center. A massive palace with multiple towers grew from the center, high walls surrounding it. That''s probably where the city lord lives I thought.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Firstly, I needed to find Sarissa. Oh shit¡­ I realized that I had made a rookie mistake. She hadn''t said she was going to the city. She mentioned a place called Jericho. How could I have been so stupid? Well, I had stood by the gates long enough to confirm that Blind Spot worked on the guards at least, not to mention normal people. The guards were at the Core Formation stage, wisps of white aura showing as they tried to intimidate the people at the gate. Not a single person had even looked my way, so I moved carefully through the gate making sure not to touch anyone. Maybe I could find some information about this Jericho place inside. I looked around at the busy streets as people seemed to unconsciously flow around me. It was a little bit disconcerting, to be honest. I could see a couple of taverns as well as a few run-down shops. Past that was all shantytown. Makeshift structures everywhere and just as many beggars. I looked down and realized I still wasn''t wearing a shirt. Better fix that. I took one out of my bag and put it on, nobody noticed me since I still had Blind Spot active but still. Now with my shirt on I started walking down the crowded street between shops and taverns, as well as a few rundown but proper houses. Passing by a shop I noticed a board with different advertisements and messages posted on it. I walked up to it and noticed a flier. Poor Families: A new school has opened for your children to get a basic education and cultivation guidance free of charge, Everyone is welcome at Jericho Academy. Sponsored by House Ratham. That was too easy. I was a little bit disappointed, having to hunt through the city for the information I needed was almost like a quest in an RPG game. Oh well, I¡¯m sure there will be plenty more chances for me to get my quest time in. The flier had said the school was located near the blacksmith guild. Quest time? Nope. I think the giant building in the next ring up that was belching smoke was the blacksmith guild. Ten minutes of walking through the city later and I was proven right. Next to the blacksmiths guild was a semi-large compound with a few buildings inside where I could see students practicing martial arts. Hmm, should I try and enroll? Could be fun I thought. At least until Sarissa arrives and clears everything up. I wasn''t sure whether I actually would learn anything here but why not give it a go. What do they say? For shits and giggles right? I slowly tapered Blind Spot off as not to startle anyone by suddenly appearing near them. As funny as that is sometimes. There were several guys dressed in what must¡¯ve been the school''s uniform standing at the gate of the school. They didn¡¯t seem much older than me. I approached the gate, the guy on the right assessed me and didn''t seem impressed, a disdainful look on his face for barely a second but far too long for me to miss it. The people of this world sure acted arrogantly toward those they saw as weak. The other guy looked at me but his reaction was different, his eyes seemed happy. ¡°I haven''t seen you here before, come to enroll in the best academy in the city?¡± asked the second guy. ¡°Maybe. I would like to observe for a little while.¡± They nodded and continued guarding the gate, leaving me to watch my next source of entertainment. 06 - Punches, Kicks, and Opportunity The martial forms I saw the students practicing in the yard were not the same as in my book. Now I had followed the teachings of the book and gotten to the level of strength I was through its methods. If the people here were as weak as I had experienced so far then I can assume that the book was not ordinary? Did these students even have any aura? It took me a second to see the transparent wisps coming off of them. Wait was that a very weak aura or just heat coming off them? Scanning using sixth undesignated sense¡­ Result: Extremely thin aura, the rate of current energy absorption by individuals indicates they have been cultivating for seven years. The A.I reported. Holy shit. Seven years for that? I could piss more aura than that. With my boredom setting back in I looked at the guy who spoke to me previously. ¡°I think I would like to enroll here.¡± He grinned and motioned for me to follow him through the gates. We walked further into the somewhat rundown courtyard stopping in front of a middle-aged teacher leading the students in form practice. ¡°Got another here who would like to enroll.¡± The guy from the gate said with obvious enthusiasm. Why was this dude so happy? ¡°Thank you, now back to your duty.¡± Replied the teacher, the student bowed and went back to the gate. Wow¡­ This man must be the mold for every average cultivation academy teacher in any story from my world. One word came to mind looking at this man; forgettable. The teacher examined me from head to toe and it seemed he thought he had figured me out. ¡°Do you have any prior cultivation experience?¡± He questioned. How much do I want to say? Show overwhelming power? No. That wouldn''t be any fun. Let''s go with being new to cultivation. ¡°None sir,¡± I replied with a respectful tone. He seemed pleased with my attitude. It should be rather interesting to see how normal people are taught to cultivate, perhaps I could gain insights into their training I could exploit in combat. ¡°That''s fine, I shall find a student to help you catch up to the rest of the class.¡± He turned and walked forwards. His hands rested behind his back. He holds himself with poise I¡¯ll give him that. We continued deeper into the courtyard going between several buildings to a smaller dirt-floored space at the back of the premises. As we arrived so did a tall woman holding a sword. Scars covered her arms and midsection. She had rapped her chest, probably to keep certain things interfering with her sword practice. The only other clothing she wore was a pair of pants, no shoes. I guessed she had fairly long hair from the size of the bun she had secured on her head. ¡°Perfect timing Miss Aberdeen, I need you to catch this student up to the rest of the class.¡± She frowned after hearing the teacher¡¯s request. It didn¡¯t seem to please her very much. ¡°I am transferring to Highlander Academy in three days as you knew, I need all the time I can get to practice. I can¡¯t be babysitting your pets.¡± She sneered. What a surprise, warrior lady is a total bitch. It made me wonder if I requested not to train with her right now if it would start one of the biggest cliches possible. ¡°Sir it seems the lady will not train me. Should we find someone else?¡± I asked, putting on the most innocent expression I was capable of. The amount of rage that bloomed on the lady¡¯s face confirmed my theory. ¡°Am I not good enough to train you?!¡± She screamed as she got in my face. I remained calm and held my ground. I will not be one of those characters letting the women walk all over him. ¡°You said you didn¡¯t have time to train me. I¡¯m not sure how you inferred me thinking you''re not good enough to teach me. I have no doubt I could learn much from you.¡± I clarified. The livid expression faded from the lady¡¯s face. ¡°Fine, I will instruct you for the remainder of my time here in this school. Your training begins now.¡± She stated as she headed into the middle of the dirt patch. The teacher raised an eyebrow in surprise. ¡°I dare say you played her like a fiddle.¡± He whispered to me as he turned and headed back. I shrugged my shoulders and walked to a spot in front of the lady. It helps if you knew exactly how to deal with her type.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°How may I address you?¡± I asked with my head bowed. ¡°Raise your head. Name¡¯s Lilith Aberdeen. You can call me Lilith.¡± She introduced herself with obvious pride but it felt the source of said pride wasn¡¯t from her family name but herself. I could certainly respect that. She did seem somewhat strong. I was proven right when she set her sword down and released her aura. A much thicker blue aura than I had seen before surrounded her as she turned towards me and got into an unknown martial stance. ¡°We must assess your skills. I hope you will not disappoint me.¡± ¡°I do know some basic forms, though I have not cultivated so my strength will be subpar,¡± I admitted. She nodded in understanding and launched a kick my way as soon I was in front of her. I caught the kick under my arm locking her leg in place while pulling her forward into the punch I sent with my other arm. As I watched my fist traveling forwards I began to notice glowing red spots on Lilith. The ever-present AI in my head explained the phenomenon as soon as they started appearing. Human anatomical data compiled to create a pressure point map. Red X means a fatal point. Red Circle means immobilization point. Sweet but not needed right now. The points quickly disappeared. My fist connected with her kidney, was I moving a little too fast? Possibly, I¡¯ll create some distance and see her reaction. I withdrew my fist, let go of her leg and sent a light kick to her midsection, and used the momentum as a springboard. I launched myself into the air, back-flipped, and landed a couple of yards away. Lilith held her side for a moment while breathing heavily. ¡°What the fuck was that?!¡± She demanded. ¡°You complete liar, you said you only knew some basic forms. That was a flawless counter and distancing technique.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± I uttered. How was that difficult to defend against? I was moving slow, and I simply reacted how I should have. I wasn''t using any of my cultivated strength either. Was she just that weak? Or were the forms I knew just too lethal to be taught in this world? I wasn¡¯t getting many answers compared to the questions that just kept adding up. This time I would stay on the defensive, doing so might answer some of the questions I had. ¡°Can we try once more? I won¡¯t counter this time.¡± ¡°Fine.¡± she agreed after some hesitation. I nodded and sank into a defensive stance ready for anything. Lilith charged with a shout sending a fist towards my head. I used the back of my hand to deflect her punch to the side, at the same time she thrust her knee towards my abdomen. I raised my leg to block the strike. She backed off and came again this time with a roundhouse kick. Instead of ducking underneath as she expected so she could sweep my legs out from under me, I Leaped over the kick. I felt the air displacement from her leg on my back. She finished her revolution and then went for the leg sweep, to her surprise I was still in the air as her sweep missed entirely. I landed right after she finished the sweep and had to block an uppercut. I used my forearms to push the oncoming fist to just miss my face by a hair. Now back in an upright stance, Lilith launched a back kick towards my chest, I caught the kick and pushed her away causing her to have to regain her balance. It was driving me crazy how many openings I could exploit right now, so far she had yet to land a real hit. I was a little disappointed, I had expected a real fight but what I received did not satisfy. So what was I going to do? Another punch was thrown my way. Oh damn, that had enough force to kill a normal human behind it. I moved to the side and grabbed Lilith¡¯s forearm and used her momentum to throw her over my shoulder. She hit the dirt with a loud thud and groan. ¡°You say you haven''t done any cultivation? You would be a terrifying opponent if you had,¡± Lilith grunted as she got up. ¡°I see no point in continuing the assessment, it¡¯s obvious your combat prowess is far above mine.¡± ¡°You flatter me.¡± I put my palms together and bowed. She just rolled her eyes. ¡°You should come with me to Highlander Academy, with your skills you would be top of your grade as soon as you started to cultivate.¡± Lilith crossed her arms. ¡°I¡¯m positive there is nothing the instructors here could teach you.¡± ¡°You may be onto something,¡± I admitted. If I wanted to keep this little charade going then I would have to change schools before Sarissa arrived to ruin my fun. ¡°Any chance we could join Highlander Academy today?¡± I looked at Lilith who thought for a moment. ¡°Like now preferably?¡± ¡°Alright calm down,¡± She griped. ¡°What''s he in such a rush for?¡± I heard her mutter under her breath. ¡°Highlander Academy is in a nearby city about a week''s travel for me but it might be a bit more time for you so leaving now is better.¡± She revealed. ¡°Meet by the gate in two hours ready to leave.¡± I gave her a nod and a grin as she left to get her things ready. Me? Already had everything, except a reputation. I hoped getting some rep might let me have a more legitimate public foothold. Time to go genius trampling. This was going to be fun.