The information that flowed into Will"s mind was about cultivation. There were three types of energy that a human was able to use: Qi, mana, and yuan. Qi was the energy of the body. Mana was the energy of the spirit. Yuan energy is a fusion of the two. There are different yuan energies, one that is primarily Qi, one that is primarily mana, and one that is a balance of the two. Once a player has reached a certain level of skill and ability, they are able to use yuan energy. The closer a player"s yuan energy is to a perfect balance of the two, the better and more effective the energy is. It is when yuan energy is at a perfect balance, having equal amounts of Qi and mana; it is considered very high quality. These players are then called a pract.i.tioner. Pract.i.tioners have a greater advantage of other players who cultivate and absorb energy from the universe because they are able to use both types of energies.Cultivation is the ability and practice of absorbing energy from the universe. This energy then allows the player to modify their body, soul, abilities, and strength, extend life, and more. This is only a part of the vast wealth of information that Will gained about cultivation. He quickly absorbed the information. It suddenly occurred to Will that his level of intelligence had increased and that he was able to explore his own mind. His mind had become like a computer, able to process things faster and perform calculations that he would not have been able to before.
Will went through the basic information over again in his mind. He then went through what was a manual that had been installed in his mind.
Will spoke aloud to himself,
"The Solitary Sword Sovereign, this is the cultivation technique I got. Players use cultivating techniques to gather energy and control it. The better the technique, the greater the quality and quant.i.ty of energy that is cultivated. The type of technique determines what kind of energy can be harvested. For example, a player using ice techniques absorbs frost mana. A player using fire techniques absorbs flame Qi. Players who attempt to cultivate energy that does not correspond with the techniques used will be negatively affected."
Will became more eager to find out what type of cultivation technique he had received. His mind fell back into the information he was given to try and find out. With his eyes closed, sitting on his bed, he tried to read through The Solitary Sword Sovereign to see if his technique would be stated somewhere. Beads of sweat rolled from his face as he attempted to sift through the information, to no avail. After only a few minutes he opened his eyes.
"d.a.m.n!" Will exclaimed "I can only understand the beginning. It"s too complicated."
To Will, it was as if he was trying to decode a cipher in a foreign language. What he did understand, however, was very useful. The dantian is a region two inches below the navel. This is where yuan is stored. Qi is stored in the body, mana in the mind and yuan in the dantian. There are thousands of spiritual veins transport energy to different areas of the body. Acupoints are places of intersection of the spiritual veins; a player can control these acupoints to direct energy.
These energies and networks are not in the same dimensional plane as the physical body and do not interfere with the function of the body. Meridians are valve like points that exist along with the network of spiritual veins. There are 20 meridians that are divided into two cla.s.sifications, the Eight Gates, and the Twelve Doors. The amount of meridians that are unsealed in the beginning is a measure of a player"s talent for harvesting energy. The more a player trains, the more doors they can open and the more control over the energy they gain. The number of open gates never changes; it is fixed for each player. Gates are named according to the attributes that they modify and enhance.
Will had six doors unsealed and five open gates. Will"s open gates were the Water, Spirit, Wood, s.p.a.ce and Metal gates. He would never be able to access his Fire, Earth and Taiji gates. The types of open gates allow for the potential to use abilities that have the attributes that the gates enhance. Will was only able to access the Water and Metal gates because his abilities were still very limited. Nevertheless, he retained confidence that he would be able to access the other three gates as he improved his abilities and skills.
After thinking over what he could understand, Will decided to try and harvest energy according to the instructions that he was able to decipher. He slipped into a state of mind that lacked a sense of time and s.p.a.ce. This was a state of nothingness where he drew out energy from the universe, merged it into yuan, moved it along his spiritual veins, and placed it into his dantian. Whilst he was doing this, he utilized his dual mind ability to try and comprehend more of the manual.
Will noticed something was changing as he collected more energy. His yuan began to manifest itself into a weapon form. It was a sharp, blade type weapon. It was a sword! The more he understood The Solitary Sword Sovereign manual; the more he was able to understand yuan. His yuan was sharp, swift, agile, and lethal. This was his yuan, a sword yuan. His mind filled with the urge to kill.
"Having fun I see." A deep voice spoke out.
Will opened his eyes and leaped off of his bed ready to defend himself. Then he realized it was Modus. Time had stopped again, and the color was gone.
"How does it feel?" said Modus.
Will could not see Modus" expression behind the mask. But, from the tone of his voice, he knew that Modus was being smug.
"Good," Will smirked, "Very good."
"Great. But, you should thank me for stopping time for you again." Modus snidely remarked.
Will narrowed his eyes and tilted his head. He was somewhat confused.
"Why should I thank you?" The words flowed out of Wills" mouth slowly.
Modus was amused by this. He enjoyed toying with Will, though Will did make it very easy.
Modus replied, "You have been harvesting energy for oh, about two days or so now."
Will gasped in astonishment. It felt like only a few minutes. How could he have ever expected time to fly like that? Will"s mind became riddled with thoughts about how this could have happened. It failed to occur to him that Modus could be toying with him.
While Will was still in thought, a katana appeared in Modus" hand.
"Catch!" Modus said as he tossed the katana to Will.
Will, caught the katana by the grip as if it were a habit. Once the katana was firmly in his hands, he was filled with more information. This time, it was the knowledge of blade techniques.
"This information is from your second cla.s.s. It was in your mind, but it needed a trigger to reveal itself to you."
"That"s why it feels so strange." Will thought to himself.
This was different from the other information he had received. It was similar to his ability to control water. The sword felt like a long lost friend. It was an extension of his being, an extension of his arm. Will began to move about with the katana, practicing different moves.
"Did you check your "stats"?" Modus chimed.
Will froze. He was suddenly brought back to his senses.
"s.h.i.t, I forgot!"
Will knew very well, that when a character upgrades, the first thing to do is to check the "stats" to see what exactly has changed. He was a gamer after all. He closed one eye and opened the menu to show his "stats".
Username: Peerless Dao Master
Level: 3
Cla.s.s: Water Meister, Sword Apprentice
Energy Type: Yuan
Points: 1,000
Race: Human
t.i.tles: Dual Pioneer
Skills: Dual Mind (pa.s.sive)
Dual Mind Propagation (pa.s.sive)
Cla.s.s Duality (pa.s.sive)
Basic Swordsmanship (pa.s.sive)
Sword Enlightenment (pa.s.sive)
Water Enlightenment (pa.s.sive)
Water Manipulation
Stats:
Endurance: 5 (+30)
Agility: 4 (+40)
Strength: 5 (+20)
Wisdom: 9 (+35)
Intelligence: 7 (+20)
"Level 3?" Will exclaimed. "But I haven"t done anything. I haven"t killed anything."
"Indeed."
Will did not know what to say.
"Even if a player gains a new cla.s.s, their level will not randomly increase. The level increase comes from cultivation."
These words. .h.i.t Will with a wave of shock that resonated.
"Cultivation is the same as leveling up. The system must truly be very powerful." Will thought to himself.
Will decided to see what his cla.s.ses and skills would allow him to do.
Cla.s.s: Water Meister –A master of the element water. A player with this cla.s.s has the ability to control water with their mind. The limits and extent of control are dependent on the wisdom and intelligence of the player. This cla.s.s is a duos cla.s.s and can evolve.
Cla.s.s: Sword Apprentice –A player with this cla.s.s is given knowledge on mastering the sword, is fast, and has a lot of endurance. In this cla.s.s, the attack is stronger than the defense. A sword apprentice has the ability to use any type of blade. This cla.s.s is a dual cla.s.s and can evolve.
Skill: Cla.s.s Duality (pa.s.sive)–This allows a player to possess and use two cla.s.ses.
Skill: Dual Mind (pa.s.sive) –This skill allows a player to divide their mind into two parts. This can increase intelligence and grants abilities such as ambidexterity.
Skill: Dual Mind Propagation (pa.s.sive) –This skill doubles the abilities of the Dual Mind every five levels.
Skill: Basic Swordsmanship –This skill gives the player knowledge on the uses of basic sword skills.
Skill: Sword Enlightenment –This skill allows a player to improve their ability to comprehend sword skills and the laws of nature. It will allow a player to use any bladed weapon as an extension of them.
Skill: Water Manipulation (pa.s.sive) –This skill allows a player to manipulate water freely. This can be any type of water given that it is not within another life form.
Skill: Water Enlightenment (pa.s.sive) –This skill allows a player to gain a complete comprehension of water and a connection to the laws of the element of water.
"These abilities are super overpowered!" Will exclaimed to himself. "My dream of being an overpowered grinding machine is nearby!"
"Alright Will, I honored my part of our agreement. Now it"s your turn." Modus interrupted. Modus snapped his fingers and the two of them disappeared from the room.
"Will, I brought your food. It"s your favorite, roasted chicken!" Will"s Aunt tried to say convincingly. She opened the bedroom door to find it empty. He was not there. She would not see him again for the next five years...
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Several years later –in an abandoned city, a young girl was running. She was pale, malnourished, and filthy. Her t-shirt and skirt were covered in dirt and grime and were ragged and threadbare. Every few seconds she looked behind her in fear of what she was running from. She had been running so long she was out of breath and stumbling over her own feet.
Several meters behind her was a group of what seemed to be teenage boys. They were clearly delinquents by their attire. They were the ones chasing the young girl, throwing fireb.a.l.l.s, ice spears, and making hollers and yells in the excitement of the chase.
The girl made a turn when suddenly her face filled with dread. She had run into an alley with a dead end. Her pursuers had her trapped.
"Hah! Now you"ve got nowhere to go. Be a good girl and let"s have a little fun together!" said one of the boys. Their intentions were obvious as they grinned devilishly at their prey.
"No! Someone help me!" The girl cried out. Her captors laughed at her hollers for help. They all knew that the area was abandoned. Only insects replied as they scratched, scurried, and squirmed about. The girl"s back hit the wall of the alley as she relinquished hope. Her body slumped towards the ground. Then someone"s hand appeared and held her up.
She started screeching, about to get away from the hand that held her firmly.
"It"s ok, calm down." The hand belonged to someone entirely different from her captors. It was a dark-skinned young man with short white hair in oriental robes, and a sword strapped to his waist. After the girl acknowledged him, he turned to the delinquents. There was something about the young man that gave the girl a sense of security.
"Check his level!" The boy who seemed in charge of this hunting party demanded. Another boy closed one eye and waved his hand about. "Ha! He"s only level 20, we got this." The group smirked with confidence.
"What"s your name?" commanded the boy in charge.
"Will Chamberlain." The young man replied in a somber tone.
"You"re a dead man Will. Got any last words?"
The group of boys started stretching and cracking their joints in antic.i.p.ation of a good beat down.
"These are the kind of filth who focuses on increasing their levels. Their skills are weak. I don"t like wasting my time with idiots like these." Will thought to himself.
Will smiled gently. He was going to end this band of filthy hunters. He drew his sword.
"I have one thing to say –head"s up!"
Instantly several decapitated heads flew from their bodies. Blood began to pour and soak the ground of the alleyway.