《Sect Core》 Chapter 1 Chapter One In the main temple of the Five Dragon Sect, one of the five most prominent sects in the universe, a man is stretched out into a cross-shape on top of the altar, his hands and feet are bound by a wrought metal chain, which seems to warp even space around themselves. The temple is half full of men and women, all wearing clothes embroidered with gold. All of them seem nearly like angles. But if you look closer at the faces, there is a glint in their eyes which makes them seem arrogant. The man on the altar was the complete opposite of the other people. It seemed like he did take a bath in sludge or even worse. His unkempt hairs and beard were sticky and long, he looked malnourished and didn''t seem to have any muscles at all. His only clothing was a pitiful loincloth, and even that looked like it was too small. In other words, he could win a competition for the poorest of beggars in the whole universe. But if you looked him into his eyes, all of it seemed to be a lie. Those weren''t the eyes of a beggar. The white of the eyeballs wasn''t just white, it was the purest of white and seemed like it was shining. But that isn''t the end of the strangeness, not by a long shot. There were no iris in the eyes, no in the middle of the eye was a black hole. Yes it really wasn''t just the pupil it was the deepest black you can imagine, and if you looked into it, it seemed to pull you in. Around the black hole were four colored dots equidistant from each other, they moved clockwise in the left eye and counterclockwise in the right. They seemed like planets orbiting around a black sun. One was dark green like the forest in summer. The second was red and seemed to burn with an inner fire, the next one was of a dark blue like the deepest of oceans. The last one was yellow and a lite golden glow to it. And yet he gave off an aura of kindness and warmth. Those eyes spoke of an age older than mountains and wisdom few could ever gain in their entire lifetime. A man stepped towards the altar, he was dressed even gaudier than all the others. On his chest was a golden amulet with an exquisite depiction of a dragon head and on his hand a golden ring. The ring resembled a dragon biting its own tail. The eyes of both carvings were set with gemstones. He sneered at the beggar-like man. "Hello sect head, well not really any longer right?" Every person in the temple just laughed or snickered. "First you leave the Center for your stupid experiment and come back all exhausted and then you just ''leave'' again without telling anyone where you would go. To tell the truth, we never thought you would give us such a chance. After you ''left'' a millennia ago, I as your right-hand man had to take over. And look around, I did a fantastic job only the worthy are left in the sect all others ''died'' or had an ''accident'' while cultivating. We always thought you weren''t the right fit. I was right from the beginning. We don''t need any common-born pigs. Our five families are enough to guide the sect towards a better future without being muddled by your kind. Your most significant failure was to trust me, did you really think I would let someone like you tell me what to do and how to live it was bad enough that I had to learn from you. Haha, and you even let me prepare your secret room for your breakthrough and didn''t check the formations. A pity for you that the formation for gathering celestial energy looks nearly the same as the one for banishing it. And the one for keeping everyone out has only one rune that is different from keeping whoever is in the formation in. After you were imprisoned for about a hundred years, I started to personally take care of those four puppets, you installed to guide the sect. I told one every 100 years that you wanted to see them and brought them near your cell. And each and every one of them when they saw the state you were in, let down their guard, it was so easy to kill them nearly as if their soul already left their body. Trusting idiots just like you. Laughable excuses of dragons I''d say; old and decrypt. Not a single real leader among them. Their cores make beautiful jewelry wouldn''t you say?" His gaze swept towards his ring on his left hand while gently stroking his amulet, both adorned by two dazzling dragon cores which sparkle brightly in the well-lit room. At those words, the altar-bound man looks sadly at the cores, he seems to have given up on his life long ago. "At long last, it is your time to be made into a core oh and don''t even think that you will be able to regain a body in a few thousand years, haha" everyone laughs abhorrently. "Oh no no no, we will send you into THE RIFT. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.Oh well, finally a reaction. Yes, that rift in the center of the universe, the rift nobody could ever get out of, and nobody ever could even use any sensors to get a glimpse of the other side. We are all sure it rips everything apart that comes near it so it will be your absolute END." "Let''s begin." All of the people released their auras if a mortal was anywhere within miles of the temple, he would have died instantly. The feet of the man on the altar started to dissolve into a dark green mist. Slowly the process crept up the man''s legs. When it reached his torso, it slowly ground to a halt. You could almost feel the cold sweat running down their backs, trying to continue on. "It doesn''t work," someone in the crowd yelled, "even after being cut off from any energy for a thousand years he is still too strong." "NOOOO, we can''t wait any longer we need to refine him or will never get complete control over all protected areas of the sect." The leader screamed. "Let''s try to go with his arm, the more we vaporize of his body, the lighter the resistance will become." Slowly the finger transformed to mist, again it worked until both of his arms were gone. Finally, the torso vaporized cell by cell, after three days only the head was left. The people kneeled in a circle around the altar, they used so much energy they couldn''t stand anymore. "Hahaha, finally the first part is done," the leader breathed. "Any last words, dirt-blood?" .... .... The head opens its mouth: "Just get on with it!!!" .... .... There is absolute silence for three breaths of time. "Who do you think you are." "You are done for and still look down on us." "I hope the rift takes a billion years to slowly grind you to dust!" "QUIET!!! He is just trying to destroy our concentration so we can''t finish the refining process!" Slowly everyone calmed down. "Now, as we discussed a third of us will stop helping and meditate for three days to regain their strength. We do it like this until everyone is fully rested. And then we will end this." Nine days later, all of the people are standing around the altar again. Slowly the mist like substance formed a sphere around the head. It rotated faster and faster, and ever so gradually shrank. After twelve hours the diameter is the same as the wingspan of a mortal bald eagle. The further it compresses, the slower the progress gets. Two and a half hours after that, the mist slowly shrinks down to the approximate area of the still seemingly alive head. Gradually it gets smaller and smaller a half-day later is about nine-tenths as big as the head, but the head seemed to have shrunk under the pressure of the shrinking gas cloud. The fifth day as it reached half the size of the head, a sound like an explosion sounded, and the gas was transformed into a liquid. After the liquid was formed, the progress became even slower. It took four more days to get the sphere to the size of a coconut which resulted in an even louder sound, the shockwave of it was so strong it blew a few of the elderly of their feed. A core was formed, it looked like it was made out of some type of crystal. Two weeks after they began, it seemed like no-one had any energy left to give, but the result was that the man was refined into a fist-sized core. When the Leaders and elders looked at this core, they were astounded not only was the core one of the biggest they had ever seen, no even the coloring was completely different. Usually, they were brightly colored. But this one was polished like a cut diamond and clear like the freshes spring. Inside there was the same formation that was the eyes of the beggar. A black sun with four planets rotating spherical around it. A glyph suddenly appears in front of the leader, and soon after it turns into smoke. He looks around, and after taking in everyone''s exhausted state, he stands up straightening out his clothing. Taking a sip out of a golden embroidered wineskin, he pulls the core through the air to his hand with a just flick of his hand. Then he says in a domineering voice: "Everyone, it seems all that work really wasn''t for nothing, the dirt-bloods restriction really weakened. It seems that if we had just killed him and not transform his body and qi into a core, the formations would have blown up half the sect. The bastard made it so that if he were killed by someone other than a sect member, then everything would have been given to that person as the new sect head. Cunning bastard seems like he wasn''t as stupid as I hoped. The problem is we still don''t have full control even with him refined and his dragons transformed into these controlling artifacts. There can''t be any hint of his energy left in our universe. It really is a shame if I could use his core to cultivate I would be even faster to ascend." There was a lot of cursing about the previous sect master and his cunning ways. "Ok, let''s end this." The family-heads of the other four families came forward and together they formed a five-pointed star formation. In the middle of the star, a portal opened, through it, there was a white line in space visible. "It should be near enough." One of the family-heads said. After all of them nodded the new sect head took the core out and threw it through the portal. On the other side, it accelerated until just vanished in the rift. Chapter 2 In the center of the milky way is a core that is being sucked faster and faster towards a rift in space. Well, I learned something new, being turned into a core really hurts, feels like every cell in your body just evaporates, wait that''s exactly what happened. Let¡¯s just not do that again; it was worse than ripping a part of your soul out to create a new entity even if I take all four times I did that in the past together. But man that Liu Shen sure had a stick up his ass. I really thought I taught him that birth isn''t superior in cultivation. Who would have thought that he always resented me for being of lower birth than him. Hehe, I wonder what he would think now if he knew the whole truth. I really hope there is something on the other side of this rift. I cashed in everything for the chance that there is something new on the other side. Nobody knows how to become stronger than me, and the other nine sect heads already are some of them even think they can¡¯t advance any further in their path of cultivation. But there just has to be a way forward. People on Earth didn''t understand cultivation isn''t just a fantasy and tried to explore space with technology, but I cultivated and cultivated until I finally could open a connection to a higher being. Haha, who would have thought all those gods of the earth really existed and were just cultivators that left Earth at one time or another. And God was the only one still there, well at least he helped me ascend and send me on way of cultivation, Earth really was a backwater. Hm, I wonder what happened to Earth I never went back there. Well it has probably been destroyed after all. It sure has been quiet a while since I left maybe a bit over a mill.. A billio... ok a very long time, nobody is really interested in time at this level. I can still remember the first time, when I went into seclusion for a year and thought that, that was long. Haha, the good old times, when there was such a long way to the top, I really miss it. Well here comes the rift I really hope there is something new on the other side, I am bored to death. The core shots towards the rift... and just vanished, there was no longer any trace of it left in the milky way. "Welcome entity. Scan initiated... No match in Database found... Alerting Administrators.¡± a robotic voice intones. Well, what''s that now? Technology really? OHHH COME ON! There is just no way there is only technology on the other side of that rift. Wait where is it, I can¡¯t sense the thing. OK, now that I think about it I can¡¯t sense anything at all. That is strange, so.. Something sounding like technology... Check! Being scanned at arrival... Check! Nothing around not even any qi or chi... Check! ... Oh, please no no no no!! Don''t let me have landed somewhere without any way to cultivate, yes I said I was bored and wanted something new. BUT NOT SOMETHING AS BORING AS TECHNOLOGY!!! Ok, me calm down, let''s just wait and see what this administrator thing is about. Please it can''t only be some kind of Robot or AI. Please, I just want there to be a way forward with my cultivation. "So System what got you in a pinch that I had to get here myself, I really enjoyed the party,¡± a man in tuxedo seemingly teleported into the nothingness and started talking. "Let''s see. Unknown entity. Unknown starting location. No measure filed to handle it, ok System the last one really is a no-brainer how can there be measures to take when we never got anything like it." The man says. "System please give me a full analysis of the entity and the readings of its arrival." "Entity-type: Core Entity-level: late qi and chi combination Entity-origin: galaxy in the first expansion stage." "Wait what? Those results don''t make any sense how did it even get here." "Ok that''s enough I am here you know" the core tries to project his thoughts but there is now medium his thoughts could travel through. I don''t like this, can''t remember the last time I was so completely ignored. And I am not an IT I am male dammit, ohh hm I was male? NO, I AM MALE. Just because I have no guy-parts anymore doesn''t make me an IT, does it? Let''s just file that question for later. But what is he talking about me being here doesn''t make sense, and what is with those measures? And why is the guy staring into the nothingness like he is reading something?Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. "System get your main here I need your full attention." the Tux commands. Hm that is getting interesting, at least it¡äs not only the AI-thingy, but we have a.. ok I don''t know what the hell he is. Humanoid, the rest I am not so sure about, is it illusions or is he really shifting forms constantly? If he doesn''t want me to see how he looks, I am sure he could read air nothingness somewhere else. "First of all Hes you can''t command me it wasn''t part of the bet and second what do you want, the latest tournament of the 3rd Combination level just got to the semi-finals. I really wanted to watch that there is this Succubus from one of the demonic dungeons she is just gorgeous. I had her paired against that candidate from HIMEROS ACADEMY you know the one specialized in lust spells I really wanted to see how that would go." the voice of a woman sounds into the void. "First of all how often do I have to tell you not to call me Hes. My name is Hesterion." "Too long and unwieldy, I don''t know what your parents thought when they named you that, I am sure they already hated you." the female mutters. "And second, we have an anomaly." Hey now really I am not an anomaly, what a rude prick. I don''t like that guy. "Oh come on anomaly sound so rude and imprecise. Let''s see... Yes, it is strange that it got here with its level, but it''s not like it never happened before. Oh, that''s interesting we didn''t have anything from its point of origin bevor, a really young galaxy. I wonder how it got through such a young rift intact. Seems it has quite some luck, with that amount of energy it has, it should have been destroyed." Glup, wait what? It was luck that I got trough? "OK you have my attention Hes, what do we do?" "Well it seems to come from a cultivation background, we know the kind, after all, we got quite a few here. It''s just strange that it is a core. Cores never get banished from cultivation origins, those guys use them usually for cultivation. I guess it pissed someone off, or there were circumstances which forced someone to get rid of it completely." "I am not interested in a backstory! Remember hot match coming up." "Ok to spoil the fun, you won¡ät make it to the match. You have to make a path of advancement for the new core entity." Hey, maybe I do like this guy, path of advancement sounds really good and a new one? So I can discover it myself? But wait what level are these guys to make me one, and if they make it, I am not the one finding it. BUT I will be the first one to travel it. I just hope they don''t spoil me the fun. "WHAT WHY? It''s a core we have quite a few already build path for those. Just make it a dungeon." "If you can remember the first one. It was a lich that was banished after taking over whole star systems. We decided that you need bad karma to be made into a dungeon." "Karma is a bitch." "Don¡ät say that the last time you said that we ended up here so, please don''t." "How could I have known that she is able do something like that?" "Just don''t say it." Banished? Dungeon? Karma is a person? Ok I think, I don''t know what the hell they are talking about. *Sneeze* "I think somebody just thought about me." "I am sure not in a good way" the male answers. "If not dungeon how about a monster?" She just ignores him. "No you can¡¯t do that, it has got quiet some positive karma. Maybe that''s how it didn¡ät get destroyed." "Are you saying it is good karma to end up here?" "Well, it isn''t a bad one." "True. So no monster, no dungeon. Academy is out of question, seems like it doesn''t know anything about mana. Wait if it doesn''t know about mana... that''s bad all the higher leveling options are out. AHH but why? My match. I wanted to watch it. And don''t say I could watch the recording. The is no fun in it if you know how it ends." the female voice rants. "It was your bet, and you lost it! Really not my fault you became the personality of System." "So what did you have in mind. If we have something new to play with we should use it to make it more interesting around here." "Well, cultivation-core, good karma, and take a look at the deep scans. I think we would benefit from creating a new type of accademie, call it cultivation accademie." "The deep scans? Well that is interesting, but much to unbalanced. Oh, so you mean new path to give out alpha status and all the benefits it entails. Could be interesting and if it works like we hope...Yes as core type we would even directly be in phase two. But we can¡¯t just create new academies, we already have academies, new ones would be boring and they might get suspious, I will make something completely new. Hm, it does sound interesting a new path on the lower levels." Wait what? Deep scans, unbalanced? I am on the lower level? Fantastic, get on with it I want to start. ¡°Please don¡¯t go too crazy with it, some fun is always nice but remember what happens if we create too much chaos, they will definetly check.¡± "Please don¡¯t remind me¡± the female voice shudders.¡±Ok, I will create a fun but moderate path.Cultivators are all about Sects right, and they create their sects at places where there is energy or other things they need for cultivation. Since the academy is more theory based, let''s give the training-based cultivators Sect-cores. Yes, that¡¯s what I¡¯d like to start with ¡­ *giggles* ¡­ this could get interesting¡­.¡± the female voice leaves under giggling. ¡°Ook, let¡¯s just hope she doesn¡¯t create too much of a mess with that and that the core goes for it. System categorize this entity and all following of its type as Sect-Core. Start integration of Sect-Core Alpha as soon as the beginning stages are ready.¡± the Tux commands and just vanishes. ¡°New database entry: Sect-Core Entity classified as Sect-Core Integration process.. Standby.. Waiting for procedure guidelines.¡± I don¡¯t really get what just happened, but it sounds like I have to wait around here for that intergrat¨ªon process. I wonder what all that is about, I guess if it affects me I will find out. I just wonder what it means that the female is the system''s personality. And why does it sound like she isn''t always the one in control? Even more important what do these people know about the rift. It sounded like the rift in the center of the galaxy was old news, didn''t they even say something about the milky way being on its first expansion? How do they know that stuff? Well, i guess I have time. Didn¡¯t seem like they were interested in using me for cultivation, though it sounded like they wanted me to do something. The thing that they create a path forward to amuse themselves did give me a little bit of the creeps so. Sounded like I am at worse a lab rat and at best a pet to entertain them. Well if I learned one thing in my life it is: Staying alive is paramount, only the living can change their situation. So if I have to amuse them for some time so be it. If they want to build a bad relationship, we will see if I can¡ät get powerful enough to avenge myself. Chapter 3 The core traveled in the white void seemingly forgotten. I wonder how long I have to wait to get started. At least I don¡¯t become bored so quickly anymore I if I have nothing to do I can just cultivate. Wait, can I even cultivate as a core? Even if I can, I don''t know how. Oh damn, what do I do? Nothing is happening for a seemingly long time and not being able to do anything is insanely dull. Strange female System voice thingy get on with it, create faster I am bored. OK then let''s just think about the stuff they talked about. First of all, there are parties, and you go there in a Tuxedo. Unimportant; what do I expect of course my mind keeps on wandering and yet I can¡¯t help myself since there is nothing else to do. Wait there is one critical issue. I do understand the people here. Now that I think about it, I don''t think I really heard any voices at least not vocally. Hm does this mean the secret arts to communicate with mind-speech exist here? But how do they do it, I still can''t feel any qi or chi? Is it the energy called mana, but if it is how did I understand them? Like they said I have no idea on how to utilize mana. Let¡¯s see they said I was on some lower level¡­ What did they call it? Late qi and chi combination. Well I guess, you could call it that. Divine energy is made up out of qi and chi. So does that mean the 3rd Combination implies qi, chi, and mana? No wait that doesn''t make any sense. If qi and chi is the first level then the third level needs to consist out of four types of energy, but what is that last one? Look at me thinking about the fourth energy when I don''t even know what exactly mana is. Well if mind speech does work correctly then the words I hear will at least be translated into something I have an understanding of. Mana¡­. Mana¡­ I heard that word before, it¡¯s not a concept entirely unknown to me. WAIT!!! Mana as in mana the energy used to cast spells in fantasy worlds. If this is true, it could get quite interesting. Hahahaha. Who would have thought people on earth got so much right in their fantasy books. So if mana is real, the question arises, how can I control it. I don¡¯t believe it is an energy of body or mind. If it were, someone I knew would have found it long ago. We discussed other types of energy often enough while we debated about advancing further. I guess I.. Initializing Integration Process¡­ The core was interrupted in his thought process by the robotic voice of the system. Connecting entity¡­ Connection successful¡­ entity classified as Alpha¡­ Alpha core entity detected¡­ Implementing Alpha protocol¡­ Alpha protocol implemented¡­¡± Welcome, Alpha Sect Core. ?h thanks. Where am I? The core tries to communicate. Information not accessible at this level. Wait, what? No, wait you can hear me? So what is happening? Integration of entity into the System is in process. So it¡¯s not really helpful, that''s something I already knew. But what does the alpha protocol mean? Alpha Protocol is meant for the first entity to walk a path in the System. For more information see System: Alpha. Ok? System: Alpha¡­ Suddenly there was a window in front of the core.
Alpha: Alpha status is gained by being the first entity on a specific path. The alpha status can only be lost through betting inside the same class (System: Betting) or by evolving into an established path, under which circumstances the classification becomes void. Exemptions are system issued quests. (System: Quest) As Alpha, an entity has concierge status (System: Concierge Status).
Let¡¯s try this again. System: Betting Information not accessible at this level. Damm again with that message, ok the other one then. System: Quest Information not accessible at this level. Ok, that''s just teasing giving me information that tells me there is more and then telling me no you can''t know. I hate it when people do that. Grrrrr. Concierge Status? Well, it does sound nice. Wonder what that is about? System: Concierge Status Information will become accessible after integration process. Entity, please list the two most important things for cultivation. Body and soul. Body scanning Database ¡­ Attribute Astral projection and Avatar found. Do you wish for these to be included in your starter package? Soul scanning Database¡­ No Attribute found. Scanning System¡­ Entry found. A soul is necessary to be called entity. Scanning newcomer¡­ Alpha Sect Core¡­ Wish for a soul... Soul scanning Database¡­ No Attribute found. Scanning System¡­ Entry found. A soul is necessary to be called entity. Scanning newcomer¡­ Alpha Sect Core¡­ Wish for a soul... Soul scanning Database¡­ No Attribute found. Scanning System¡­ Entry found. Soul is necessary to be called entity. Oh shit, I broke it!!! STOP STOP STOP! I don¡¯t wish for a soul. Wish retracted¡­ Attribute Astral Projection and Avatar found. Do you wish these to be included in your starter package? Hm, it does sound nice to have a body again but astral projection no I already know how to do that. Implementing Avatar¡­ Avatar couldn''t be bought, not enough Energy Points. Wait, what? What are Energy Points? ... Hm, System: Energy Points?
Energy Points: Energy Points for Core-Class entities or Experience Points for most other lifeforms is the System currency to buy anything from the System Shop (System: Shop). They can be earned through active training, quests, achievements or killing and absorbing the free energy the souls leave behind.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.
?? That last part doesn¡¯t really sound so encouraging. But.. System: Shop
Shop: The Shop is your way to spend all those Energy Points (System: Energy Points). There you can buy everything you can imagine. Not everything will be available right from the start, and certain things will require specific certifications.
Really everything? I will test that in the future. So with other words, I have energy points but not enough to buy Avatar. But how do I see how much Energy Points I have? Command... User: Energy Points The User has 1,250,730 Energy Points. 1,000,000 EP were used for Alpha Status. WHAT? Alpha Status cost me nearly halve my points? How much does Avatar cost? Avatar cost for Alpha Core Sect: 750,000,000,000 EP At least getting Alpha didn''t prevent me from getting Avatar. Whishes unable to be fulfilled. Implementing Backup plan one¡­ Attribute Spatial included in starter package! Please list two resources¡­ Wait, Spatial? What does that mean now, this system thing could really be a bit more helpful.
Spatial: The core is in control of a spatial domain. The ability to change this space depends on level. The expansion of the territory is possible (Spatial Domain: Expansion). Spacial Domains are only accessible through portals under control of the owner; each domain has one primary gateway. For more information see (Spatial Domain: Portal).
Hey, that does sound nice, it¡¯s something I would have bought myself if I knew to look for it. Let''s try those commands instead. Spatial Domain: Expansion Spatial Domain: Portal Information not accessible at this level.
Portal: Portals are stable rifts in the space-time continuum. They can be claimed, if claimed depending on the class of the portal, different settings are available. Spatial Domain: Portal Each Spatial Domain must have, upon ownership, one main portal open. The location will be chosen upon gaining ownership. The position of the primary gateway is fixed, to a place on any item in normal space. The object can be a planet but could also be something like a dagger or ring. Besides the primary gateway, the owner can open secondary portals, these cost EP-Upkeep.
Please list two resources¡­ Please list two resources? If I knew what they meant with that, it would be a lot easier. Please list two resources¡­ Ok. that isn''t really helpful at all. Ok, what would be the essentials to start out strong? Some resources for formations and pills I guess are the minimum required. Choice: Formations added to the starter package. Choice: Pills not enough EP left¡­ searching for substitute¡­ Found entry Cultivation Flora. Is Cultivation Flora acceptable? I don''t like the sound of that. User: Energy Points The User has 50730 Energy Points. ??? Where have all those points gone? 1,000,000 EP were used for Attribute: Spatial. 200,000 EP were used for Resource: Formation How much would Pills be and how much is Cultivation Flora? Resource: Pills cost for Alpha Core Sect: 200,000 EP Resource: Cultivation Flora cost for Alpha Core Sect: 50000 EP. So if I take Cultivation Flora, I will have 730 EP left. System do I have to choose anything else? And what is left in the integration process? The user has to choose one more resource, then the user will be integrated. So I there is nothing more to choose, guess I take the flora then. Starter package completed¡­ Integration process completed. Starting creation process... Spatial Domain creation¡­ Owner: Sect core¡­Choosing domain size...1st Combination Level¡­Creating spatial domain of 125 cubic meters. User, please select a name for your sect. I can name it right now? Well, Five Dragon Sect would be a little bit too pompous for a Sect inhabiting 125 cubic meters. System can the name be changed? All entities can buy one name-change every 100 years. Interesting that you can buy a name change from the system but, only every 100 years, I wonder if there were problems with people changing their name too often. Ok, let¡¯s start with Black Scale Sect. And work us up from there. Spatial Sect registered name Black Scale Sect. New Owned Spatial Domain found¡­ Starting Portal Creation Process¡­ Owner has 730 Energy Points, advanced location options disabled. The location will be random. Owner has 730 Energy Points, highest fixture type the user can afford: Planemo for 725 EP. Do you wish to buy this option or go smaller? AHHHH. I did ask if I need any more EP. Damn shouldn''t have asked about the integration process only. System can I change my previous selection. User has not enough EP to change location options. Please?! User has not enough EP to change location options. No, not the location option at least not yet. I want to change my choices in the integration process! Integration process completed. So I can¡ät change formation for something else? Integration process completed. WHY NOT!!! Damned System, that''s why we cultivators don¡¯t work with technology, you can achieve a lot with it but in the end it can still just follow a given path. Why couldn¡¯t they use a ghost or something similar to that! Maybe they do understand! After all the Tux called in the Main as soon as the normal System didn¡¯t do a good enough job. I guess it makes sense use the automated System to do the trivial stuff and if a significant problem comes up, the female takes over. ¡­. That just shows how insignificant I am¡­ Ok, so the location of my primary portal will be random, but I still have some control over the object it will be placed on. If I remember correctly, planemo means an astronomical object with enough mass to achieve a spherical shape. So basically I can end up on anything in the planet class, well that doesn''t sound so bad does it. I just hope I don¡¯t end up in the outskirts of the galaxy. Wait am I still in the same universe and if so, does this galaxy work on the same basic principles as the milky way? I guess it should after all.The rift did bring me here, so it has to have some connection and if there is a connection the basic principles should be the same. So if the basics are the same, I really want my primary gateway to be¡­ thinking upon this further it¡¯s actually a really tricky question, isn''t it? The energy level is highest in the center of any galaxy and gets lower the nearer to the boundary you get. Ok, you could still get quite high levels at the outskirts you just needed a really massive white star as a sun. Haha, that brings back memories, I don''t know how often we tried to get through the boundary. But really what should we have done. We knew there had to be more out there, but all we could do was to explore our own galaxy. On the outside was the boundary, and we were too weak to even make a scratch on it and in the center was the rift. To get through that, you first had to be sturdy enough to withstand the pure energy around it, and even then it still ripped everyone and everything apart. Apparently, I got through in my current form, but if the Tux is right, it was more luck than anything else. Back to the problem at hand. So the center would have all the prominent characters, I guess that wouldn''t be too good for me, I am after all at the lower level of strength around here. A star system with a white star also wouldn¡¯t be a good idea, even on the outskirts they produce too much energy, and are used by reclusive characters and most of them have power over 9000. Kidding aside they are fucking powerful. And you never know what one of those bastards does next. Damn I just don''t have enough information about this galaxy to make an informed decision. Maybe it¡¯s good that I can¡¯t make one. Yeah, it definitely is. Ha-ah. Fucking System. User has 730 Energy Points, highest fixture type the user can afford: Planemo for 725 EP. Do you wish to choose this option or go smaller? Hehe, I did theorize a bit much there didn¡¯t I. Yes I¡¯ll take the option. User has 5 Energy Points, 725 EP were used for Planemo. The fixture type will be Planemo. Starting fixture selection. Suddenly a fortune wheel materialized in front of the core. The sections regarded different types of planets and it¡¯s corresponding color such as water, ice, gas, desert, barren, ferrous or oceanic and some more. In addition to that, each type was divided into categories of subpar, standard and super. But listed were not only planet types but also moons, asteroids and dwarf planets. I like it, nice touch with the fortune wheel, even though they just could have told me on which type of planemo my primary portal will end up on. So let¡¯s spin the damn thing¡­ The wheel started to spin, there was a rattata to hear, and the wheel was a blur of colors. After some time the wheel slowed down and the individual sections could be seen again. After a few rotations you could even read the script again. Please don¡¯t let it land on a moon or dwarf planet, and even more important not on a gas-type! I mean how the hell do you even fix a portal to gas, and what cultivator would live on a gas planet, or do you say in a gas planet? I still don¡¯t know how all that sect core stuff works, but I am quite sure I need cultivators. So a planet with a lot of them would be essential for my growth. The wheel was slowly grinding to a halt, and you could Roguely guess that it would end up on a green field with Super Earthlike or a black field where you couldn¡¯t read the equally black skript. Wait, what¡¯s that black one it can¡¯t be anything good right! Don¡¯t give me that, pleaaase don¡¯t! The needle was on the green field, but still, the wheel kept slowly turning, and you could nearly see the core sweating. Relentlessly the wheel moved forward. The needle was already on the pin differentiating the green and black field, but still, the wheel inched forward, slowly ever so slowly the needle bend under the pressure, and the wheel got even slower so that it seemed like it would stop any second. The needle was nearly over the pin and into the black field, but there was also almost no more movement forward by the wheel. NOOOO! Stopp! I said stop you fucking wheel. Stoooop! KLICK!!! No no no no NO! Who said a fortune wheel is a nice touch? I definitely didn''t! Come on, to see the nearly perfect choice only to get something awful.. Wait! Where will my primary gateway even be placed? I can¡¯t read shit on that black field. Starting fixture will be on a Rogue planet of earth like standard. ??? Rogue planet¡­ OH COME ON A ROGUE PLANET? Hopefully not all is lost. At least the type isn''t too bad, but ROGUE PLANET. God DAMN! How bad is my luck? Are there even lifeforms on a Rogue? Even if there are I sincerely question the existence of cultivators! I mean without a star the energy in the air is too sparse to be used in any secret art. And who cultivates Qi if you can¡¯t really use it. IF! there are any cultivators at all they could only be body cultivators. I mean yes, body/chi-cultivators are as strong as mind/qi-cultivators. But dual cultivators just rock. All powerhouses back home were dual cultivators. So how can I build a dominant sect if I don''t have any Qi cultivators? It would feel like having arms but no legs. Ok, let''s calm down! Let¡¯s just see what will happen! Maybe I get a position near the center of the universe where the systems are close enough together that even a Rogue would have enough starlight. Starting location assignment... randomizing¡­ Starting location will be in the third expansion ring. Third expansion ring? Somehow I don¡¯t like the sound of that. The Tux and the female did say something about expansions and that the milky way being in its first expansion is still considered quite young. I guess this galaxy has been through at least three expansions and is super old. Damn my starting position is totally messed up! I just hope it¡¯s not getting worse even at the outskirts of the galaxy and on a Rogue planet Creating of primary gateway completed¡­ Placing core into Sect domain¡­ The Core vanished out of the white void. Chapter 3.5

Chapter 3.5

Somewhere in this galaxy, a golden Pagoda floats in the void. This pagoda couldn¡¯t be seen from the outside, and if something or someone were on a collision course with it, it would automatically evade. In other words, if you didn''t know the pagoda was there you would never find it. Inside the pagoda was a jade slab with the body of a woman on top she was dressed in red kimono embroidered with golden dragons. The woman''s long flowing hair was fiery red and gave off the impression of real flames embracing her head. Where her skin was exposed you could see it was smooth as jade. If you looked at her face, you would forget to breathe and just knew if she smiled, empires would fall. Suddenly Hesterion appeared beside the seemingly sleeping beauty. He glanced longingly at her face and reached out to move a flick of hair out of her eyes. ¡°You know I don¡¯t like these arrangements¡­¡± he said to her. ¡°Yes I know, but like you said we had a bet, and one of us had to be the personality of the system.¡± the female voice of the system answered out of thin air. ¡°And I know that you are right, but still I don¡¯t have to like it. I know if we do nothing to prepare, they will kill us.¡± "So what do you think, will he go for it or will it be yet another failure?¡± He asks her. ¡°I did everything I could to sweeten the deal. I even put him on a rogue planet to ensure he won''t be disturbed by anyone too powerful in the beginning. We also did talk a bit about mana. I just hope he could grasp the concept.¡±This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°But what about soul force he will need it later on, do you think he will gain some understanding after all it is the most difficult force to wrap your head around, we don¡¯t want him to make a contract he can¡¯t break before being sanctified by the universe. If he does it still is a failure.¡± ¡°I know, even we didn¡¯t know until it was too late. But if he takes the offer I can help him to¡­¡± ¡°NO!¡± Hesterion interrupted her loudly, ¡°you can¡¯t.¡± His voice softens at the end. ¡°They will know and come for him and after that for us.¡± ¡°Shhh, let me explain. I won¡¯t really do much. I know they will know if we interfere too much. But remember he used some technique to split his soul into five and combine it again. I still wonder how he did it. I never thought I would see someone of his background with the ability to do that.¡± ¡°Yeah, I know! When I saw the scan, I nearly forgot our act and asked him myself.¡± ¡°I wonder if he created the art himself or if maybe someone sent it there to be found.¡± the female pondered. ¡°Regardless. Who is to say he didn''t somehow use the different energies for the four entities without ever realizing it.¡± ¡°Oh, I like it devious like always that''s my Hellorena.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t call me that you know I hate it!¡± He smiles but ignores what she said.¡°So you mean to say if he takes the offer to reset you will give him some guideline so that he gains a basic understanding of the four energies? But if you do, isn¡¯t it still too much interference?¡± ¡°Of course that would be the case, but that''s why I used the transformation into a sect core and infused his essence with a tiny amount of soul force and mana. It¡¯s just over the untrained level.¡± ¡°Ahh, I get it! So when he takes the offer, he will instinctual create some way to interpret the energies. You are brilliant, nobody will even suspect a thing. And they are bound by their own rules not to interfere if someone understands all four on his own. Haha, really brilliant.¡± ¡°One more thing Hes.¡± ¡°Yes, Hell?¡± ¡°You know it is creepy when you stare at my breasts like that right? I mean I can¡¯t even defend myself!¡± At her words, Hesterion turns red and vanishes. The only sound in the pagoda was the giggling of Hell. Update First of all, no I will not stop writing this story I have too many ideas for it to end. And now comes the but. But I am sorry that I posted the first chapters I shouldn¡ät have done that. I hate it when someone else posts a few chapters, and then nothing more happens. But sadly I put myself in little of a pinch. When writing up chapter 4, a problem suddenly came up. I was happily thinking how to structure the chapter, and then there was this moment where the first sentient enters the sect. And I was like, ok is he qi/chi/mana/void and at what level. Yeah... I didn¡ät have anything about how cultivation will work in my universe. So I sat down and thought about it, and I tell you it isn''t easy. Afterall I want to combine mana with cultivation and even have my twist on light and dark. But the core can''t cultivate himself. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. OK, to be fair I got that worked out at least in an overview kind of way. What I am working is fleshing out the mortal levels and what it means to be a 1st combination level. To do that I have to go back to all those wuxia novels I read. Or I might just retake a look at coiling dragon. If I remember correctly there are mages, in the beginning, maybe I can get some inspiration there. And after I have all the levels for cultivation I have to work something out for mana, so as I said I am sorry that I already posted chapters without having one of the foundation put down. I might take sometime before the next one comes out. If anyone knows about a good site where I can read about different cultivation and magic systems, I would appreciate a little help finding it. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

When the Core reappeared, it was in a black space where nothing save for the outline of an inactive gateway could be seen. If you concentrated on its framework, you could vaguely perceive it to be made of stone blocks, and it seemed big enough for an adult to walk through comfortably. The space in the portal was like the still surface of a completely black lake. If you looked even closer at the stone, you could make out scratches, but it was too dark to see if they were just that or maybe some kind of carving. Testing of dimension successful¡­, Don¡¯t tell me teleporting me into my dimension is the best way to test its stability?! I am beginning to hate this System thing and its creators. I AM NOT SOME LABRAT!!! Unbalanced energy values detected¡­ Checking origin¡­ User is an immigrant¡­ User may reset energy values¡­ Unbalanced energy values? What does that mean? Is this in relations to mana? And what does resetting my energy values encompass? By resetting the energy values, the user will release all energy. So I will start out again as a mortal cultivator? The user will release all energy. ¡­ You really could just have said yes. So I have to release my energy and have to become a mortal cultivator again to rebalance my cultivation. If there is some truth behind that line of thought, I think I understand why we never found a way forward. Cultivation really is difficult if you take a path you have to follow it to the end even if it is a dead-end. So I have to go back to the mortal level if I want to cultivate more energy types to get stronger. After all, it sounds like cultivating any other energy isn¡¯t possible for me because I left the Mortal Realm behind. But do I really want to go back? I want to go forward. Do I really trust in all this and let them destroy my cultivation? A new way to get stronger versus no way of knowing how to get stronger. Why do I even consider? I already decided to go all in when I let those ungrateful brats transform me into a Core. I did live a long and enjoyable life. It just got boring the last millennia. A new beginning does sound exciting. I might as well go for it. User may reset energy values¡­ Damn you. Yes, I want to reset my energy values. Please don¡¯t move! Releasing energy... Funny I don¡¯t think I can even move on my own yet since I don¡¯t have a way to propel me. Ahhhhhhhhhhh THE fuuuuck? The Core slowly releases a vapor into the surroundings.As it discharges the energy, it shrinks. If he still had a body, you could have heard him scream in unbearable agony until his voice would give out. But alas he was just a Core, so there was no way for him to give voice to his anguish as he slowly shrank and the vapor around him filled the whole dimension. When the Core reached the size of a pill the process stopped. Hahahaaa. I thought I knew what pain is when I cultivated chi. But no, being turned into vapor and then compressed into a Core hurt a lot more than anything I have felt before. I never ever would have imagined there could be anything more painful. I really should have guessed that there is always something worse¡­ I hope I won¡¯t ever have to experience anything even a tenth as intense. Some warning next time fucking System. Energy value reset completed¡­ User has Concierge status¡­ Creating personal assistant¡­ No viable form of communication found... Integrating personal assistant into user essence... Wait stop no. That doesn¡¯t sound good. Ahhhh¡­ *cough* That wasn¡¯t so bad. Personal assistant integrated¡­ All steps completed¡­ Releasing User from quarantine¡­ A small popping sound was heard, and the Core fell to the ground. --- In a dome, a man with a muscular yet lean looking build was having a confused look around. His hair was cut short and the color of polished obsidian. He truly looked like a model and had a charisma that would let you feel at peace just by looking at him. The most unusual part about him were his eyes. They were identical to the beggar who got turned into a Core, the only difference was the black hole like pupil didn¡¯t have the same force of attraction and the white seemed to shine a lot less, but there was still this vast wisdom in them that spoke of an age older than mountains. The man appeared to take in his surroundings slightly surprised. ¡°Why did I come here without meditating? Something feels off¡­¡± he slowly turns around. Well, this doesn¡¯t seem all too different, only that there are now four exits to this room and it feels bigger than before. But most importantly: ¡°Who are you?¡± he asks a stunningly beautiful Foxkin-woman. Wow, the perfect woman just appears in my soul palace, no it¡¯s not the least bit suspicious, not after the fucking system put something into my essence. ¡°I am your personal assistant.¡± The man just stares at her. Even her voice has the perfect mix of Japanese and German accent I always envisioned listening to. Not at all suspicious¡­ ¡°And what exactly does this mean?¡± ¡°I am your personal assistant, a subroutine of the System tasked with helping you in regards to the System. My functions include a calendar, mail answering services, and other typical assistance workload functions. Other functions include a Managing Interface for EP, including but not exclusive for EP-Upkeep Management and information about upcoming sales and auctions in the Shop. I will answer all of your questions truthfully, and will try to do everything you task me with .¡± the last bit was said in a sultry voice while she was batting her eyes. Ok, that confirms it. Let¡¯s test my theory. ¡°You answer all my question truthfully? And do everything I ask you to?¡± ¡°Ohh yes, Master!¡± ¡°Then tell me that 1+1=3.¡± The fox-kin just stares for a moment and then slowly she begins to sniffle, and tears start to flow. ¡°*sniffle* Master hates me. *sniffle* I can not Master. I can not lie to you.¡± Oh no I made her cry¡­ As if! But I got to say excellent acting, but she definitely is distracting. ¡°Then tell me who is your master?¡± ¡°You are my Master!¡± she answers under continued sniffling. ¡°So how did you know to take this form and voice.¡± ¡°When I was fused into Masters essence, I got to know what you like and all of your wishes¡± answers the fox-kin. This did go on for far too long, let¡¯s just end it. ¡°So you can¡¯t read my mind?¡± ¡°Master we are in your soul palace, and it is biiiig. But no I can not really read your mind only if you let me in willingly.¡± ¡°Are you spying for anyone?¡± .... I knew it. At least they made it obvious. I can work with that. Let¡¯s try it another way. ¡°Are you spying for anyone, besides the System, its Main or Hesterion?¡± ¡°No Master I do not spy for anyone else!¡± she whispered the last word so silently it nearly couldn¡¯t be heard. Good, I think I can trust what she says to be true. Now to get rid of future complications let me try something. ¡°I want you to take an asexual shape not really pleasing to the eye but also not displeasing just something anybody could ignore. The same goes for your voice but please don¡¯t go into the robotic stuff.¡± ¡°Yes, Master!¡± With those words, her body begins to meld into itself. After some wriggling and slurping sounds, there was only a mass of slime left. After a moment the wriggling occurred again and slowly it took on a humanoid form without any defining shapes of either gender.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. ¡°Is this pleasing Master?¡± a voice you could only call neutral asked him. ¡°Yes! A lot better, and now stop trying to flirt with me by calling me master, I don¡¯t like it. I have had enough time to have fun in my life and now definitely isn¡¯t the time for that. I just got thrown back to the mortal level and have to find a way to cultivate as a Core. And my name is Godric von Brandt, just call me by my name Godric.¡± ¡°A powerful name. No wonder you aspired to cultivate with a name literally meaning cleansed by the all-consuming power of the god of flames. I will, of course, do as you wish Sir.¡± I never really thought about my name so much, but names do have power maybe that could explain why the Conscious Splitting Art created something as powerful as dragons and not just once but four times. The manual said it would create an animal which is most suitable to my essence. I always wondered why dragons, but never really thought my name could be the cause. I still believed it to be just some really fortuitous encounter I had or maybe that I didn''t interpret the manual right and made some alteration in cultivating it. But Dragons are the embodiment of flames, and I always had the smoothest time to train in the Secret Arts of fire with quite a gap to wood, it really could be because of my name. Not that it mattered. What does matter is how I am going to use IT and what those two new rooms are. ¡°First of all what do I call you?¡± ¡°You can call me whatever you like,Sir. I do only have a Serial Number, but as far I know you would not like to call me 345A09213C0.¡± ¡°No, you are right I would not. C0¡­ well, then it is Zero. What exactly did you mean by ¡°mail answering services¡±?¡± ¡°I can answer your system mail.¡± ¡°System mail?¡± Godric raised an eyebrow at that. ¡°Yes, Sir.¡± Zero dutifully explains: ¡°All entities within the System can use it to communicate with each other. The only prerequisite is they need to have been in personal contact beforehand and willingly have exchanged contact information. This is a precaution to prevent the use of the System mail for advertisement.¡± ¡°Personal contact and willing exchange? So how can I as a Core be in contact with anyone?¡± ¡°Sect Core, Sir, you are not merely any Core you are the first Sect Core!¡± Zero corrected him with vehemence in its voice. ¡°I do not know how Sir. There is no information in the official or concierge database. It seems you have to find out about it yourself or wait until another Sect Core finds out the information and makes it accessible.¡± ¡°Databases? What are those?¡± ¡°There are quite a lot of different databases, Sir. But you and thus I, have only access to four.¡± Zero raises one finger and explains: ¡±First is the database everyone has access to which includes all common knowledge. This means knowledge that is a commonly known fact for all mortals, also called the Mortal Database. It has mainly information about the history and how to use the System.¡± A second finger is raised: ¡°The next one is the Concierge Database. The name itself already implies that only entities with Concierge Status gain access to it. It contains all information about upcoming events that are entered into the System.¡± After raising the third finger, Zero continues: ¡°The third Database you gained access to is the one for Sect Cores. It just, like the Mortal one, has all knowledge common among Sect Cores. But there is also a subspace where distinguished Sect Cores can post their thoughts. All races have one of those.¡± The fourth finger goes up. ¡°The last database is the location Database. Those are Databases all important locations gain at their inception or discovery. It is the most common one but also the category with the most disparity. At the beginning all location databases were the same and could be accessed from everywhere after visiting the location, they showed all information you had gathered about the area. This changed soon due to people being able to learn new information from afar. So the System changed it so you could only access these databases if you were on site and you had to confirm this knowledge for yourself before you had access to it in the database. So the databases for locations nowadays only works like logbooks. And most people don''t really use them anymore. But as far as I know, there are two databases for most Core locations, one for the ¡°inhabitants¡± and one for the visitors. Where the visitor database only works as a log, the one for ¡°inhabitants¡± has different functions.¡± ¡°Most Core locations? So there are more than just dungeon, academy and Sect Cores?¡± Godric cocks his head quizzically to one side. ¡°Of course, Sir! The System does, after all, encompass at least this whole galaxy.¡± ¡°At least this galaxy?¡± ¡°I am sorry Sir this information has to be found out by you personally, I could only tell you this much because you are one of the immigrants from another galaxy and already suspect this to be the case. But I can not confirm or deny it.¡± Interesting so the System may even cover more than only this galaxy. I¡¯m not here for long and already I see so much to do in the future. Gambling all on the chance to get through the rift really was worth it. In deep thought Godric nearly missed the answers to his questions as Zero continued to explain . ¡°And yes there are more than just those Core types. Should I give you a complete list about all commonly known Core type entities?¡± ¡°No, that isn''t¡¯ necessary. But you could tell me what the database for me is.¡± ¡°Oh sorry Sir I forgot¡± Zero continues its explanation. ¡°To tell you the truth I am not sure but it seems similar to the academy''s. It seems like to gain access some requirement has to be met. And after that there are even different levels you as Sect Core can predetermine what your ¡°inhabitants¡± have access to.¡± ¡°I will not have ¡°inhabitants¡±, no the first level anybody joining my Sect will have is of course outer discipline. Later ones will come as we progress I think. So this database is like a vault for knowledge? Can it be hacked?¡± ¡°No Sir even the System itself would have to meet the requirements to be able to read what is in there. As far as I know the academies use it to give access to the different spells. There you can buy access or earn it through courses. Would you like to start using it?¡± ¡°No let¡¯s wait with that I still have to look what changes came with releasing my cultivation and falling back to the Mortal Realm. Or do you know that already and can explain?¡± Godric looks at Zero hoping to get answers to why there were no four doors where he only had two before the reset. ¡°I am sorry Sir, I do not know and there are no answers in the databases.¡± ¡°Zero for the future please just say you don¡¯t know. But please still check the databases but put it plain and simple I don¡¯t really like this database talk.¡± ¡°Of course Sir as you wish.¡± So the diameter seems to have gained 50 meter to about 150 meters, the height is still the same looks like what ever happened doubled the volume of this dome. But something about this place just feels of. I should investigate the four rooms maybe I get an idea about what feels wrong. With those thoughts Godric walked towards the room in front of him. This room has a familiar feeling. If I am not mistaken it is the place of my qi Core. No wait it was the place of my qi Core. Ha-ah! I wonder how it looks now, and how do I even still have a room for qi? How is it here if I condensed it while cultivating? As he walks through the doorway he saw another dome this one with the same height but a diameter of only 75 meter. The floor was dented in slightly in the middle and had intricate patterns of golden runes inscribed in circles around the dent. Well this is definitely not what I expected. The dent seems to be the beginning of a qi sea, But what is with those runes? Are those draconic runes? Incubation and protection? I really hate it when I don¡¯t even know what happened to my dantain. It shouldn¡¯t look like this. If I released my cultivation there shouldn¡¯t even be a room representing my dantain in my soul palace. And I definitely never heard of any runes in one, not even speaking of draconic ones. What is going on? With that thought Godric turns to Zero who followed him to the doorway. ¡°Zero do you know anything about this?¡± He points at the inscribed floor. ¡°Sir, it looks similar to some draconic script in the database.¡± Godric raises an eyebrow and stares at Zero. ¡°I mean some draconic script I have seen before.¡± Godric nods and moves his hand in a go-on gesture. ¡°Besides that I have no information about this phenomena.¡± ¡°It is a draconic script from the milky way galaxy but in a formation I don¡¯t fully understand it says something about incubation and protection. Oh and those symbols have something to do with water. Doesn¡¯t really make sense so. I mean yes qi if condensed enough will have the symbolism of water, but that is only an abstraction here in my soul palace. There aren¡¯t really any elements in Qi cultivation there are just types of phenomena people have an easier time to create.¡± ¡°Sir, I am sorry to interupt your musing. But there are elements.¡± Godric just stares at Zero. ¡°Elements are considered a subcategory of mana. Mana has four different attributes or also called elements: Water, Earth, Fire and Wind. As they are called most often, this is quite imprecise but should suffice for now. What you call easier time would be called an affinity with an element.¡± ¡°Ok but it has nothing to do with qi, right it is mana!¡± ¡°You are not entirely right or wrong, Sir. As Qi cultivators use the energy of their mind also called Qi to change their surroundings. Mana users on the other hand use their accumulated mana, of the elements they can control, to form ¡°spells¡±. These spells can only be cast inside one''s area of influence and then propelled outwards. This area of influence is also called aura and is the space around Mages and the like store their personal mana. So the real difference is that mana users use ¡°borrowed¡± power to achieve phenomena inside their aura, while Qi users use their own power to do the same without any real limit to their range of use only that it gets more power costly the farther away from oneself it is used. Also using mana has more power for the same energy usage. That is also why most Mana-Types try to cultivate their mind. Imagine using your qi as the bridge to cast a spell outside your aura without using tools such as runes or spell-scrolls.¡± ¡°So elements are real and all the people with those special body''s just happen to have an affinity for some element?¡± ¡°To put it crudely yes mostly, but there are some body constitutions that fall outside of this rule of course.¡± ¡°Of course there are. The figure of speech is something like: There are no rules without exceptions.¡± Goric let¡¯s out a long suffering sigh. It can never be easy, can it. The more you learn the more you understand how little you really know. ¡°But this still leaves another question: How can the draconic script here look anything like the draconic script you know of? It is after all from back home.¡± ¡°Sir, there are more than a few possible answers to this and intellectuals often debate about it. But to summarize: Nobody really knows why, but the different galaxies tend to give birth to similar races that even have similar cultures. Never exactly the same but almost. If you compare Men of two different galaxies and didn¡¯t know that, you could easily come to the conclusion that they are from the same planet only different communities.¡± ¡°So the thesis we had in our galaxy, that each race evolved on one planet and later expanded to others, also should be false?¡± ¡°Yes Sir! Most of the intellectuals are of one mind that as the different galaxies spawn the same races. It is a logical assumption that races do not have one origin planet in a galaxy. The strange thing is, it only applies to the so called Major Races there are still the so called Minor Races that just appear in one galaxy. There are theories that the Major Races are somehow seeded into the galaxies while the Minor ones are true inhabitants that follow the path of evolution. At the beginning of the research the Minor Races were called lesser and there are still scientists who use the term but it is false. An example would be the goblins. They typically are called a lesser race, due to being less intelligent but they also are one of the Major Races. Another would be the Crushtal a race of rock elementals that uses whole mountain ranges to carve out their cities they are a Minor Race that comes from this galaxy. Even some Dwarven cities were built by them. I don¡¯t believe they can be called a lesser race.¡± ¡°If any dwarf lives in a city built by them they can definitely not be called lesser creatures.¡± Godric says with a serious expression. ¡°But let me guess most plant life follows the evolution path?¡± ¡°That is right most plant life and also quite a few of the lower leveled monsters are specific to to one planet and only spread due to external influences.¡± ¡°As informative as all this is and I truly mean that I believe we could talk about all this for years. But sadly it isn¡¯t constructive right now! So let''s look at the other rooms and talk about it some more at a more opportune time.¡± ¡°Of course as you wish, Sir!¡±