“We’re here, sir. Immigration’s straight down the central corridor. You can’t miss it,” said the deferential young lieutenant opening the shuttle door for a bemused Eric, now finding himself in a docking bay overlooking automatic doors leading inside what looked like a massive airport, noting that he was far from the only person looking to cross the jump gate, catching sight of what must have been thousands of individuals flowing through the airport-like terminal, dressed in everything from sleek, chromatic skin suits to military uniforms to brilliantly colored skirts, blouses, and suits to entire families dressed in what looked to be homespun cloth.
“Would you like an escort, sir?”
Eric smiled, shaking his head at the young woman, tapping his brochure in his hand. “No worries. I think I can figure it out.”
“Very good, sir. And here. Silver coins are a very popular currency on Titan Prime and here at the space port as well. For smaller items when you’d rather not, well, risk displaying your balance.”
Eric nodded his thanks. “Fortunately, I have that taken care of. But thank you,” he said, pocketing the purse in the nondescript but comfortably tailored outfit he now wore, showing off his physique a bit more than he liked, but he couldn’t deny that Reiza had gotten some very good measurements on him while they were otherwise… occupied.
He was just glad that Bunbun was happy enough giving him legal rights to withdraw unlimited funds from her own account, Eric surprised to find that she actually had one before recalling her own negotiating adventures with the admiral. Because for now he was perfectly happy to blend in, and even if Eric’s Blue Corp originated galactic account had multiple countermeasures to make sure no funds could be illicitly withdrawn that most definitely involved blood magic, which he personally thought extremely cool… it didn’t mean that the truly savvy trader with contacts of his own couldn’t find out a bit more than Eric cared to share with the staff at a jump port’s high end malls or duty free stores.
And honestly, he couldn’t think of anything more perfectly suited to small purchases or anonymity than precious metals, especially if such was in common circulation.
The Liutenant dipped her head. “Very good, sir.” She then handed him a device that made him smile, looking an awful lot like a cell phone. “For when you’re ready to start your new life of adventure,” she said with a shameless wink. “It won’t work on Titan Prime. But even here on this side of the jump gate… you can give the admiral a call whenever you like. No matter how… complicated your situation might be.”
Eric dipped his head even as he placed it in his ES space before pulling it out, typing in the password “perfectlynormalsized,” and not batting an eye at the smile dancing in the young woman’s gaze as the miniature screen immediately powered on, showing Lizzy grinning impishly, her curls streaming in a graceful waterfall down a smooth shoulder as she sipped a flute off sparkly white wine.
“Thank you for the awesome phone, Lizzy,” Eric said with a grin, earning a chuckle.
“Don’t be a stranger, Eric. When you’re done touring the cities or running around the rice fields and you’re ready for something far more exciting… just give me a call. We’ll be more than happy to pick you up.”
Eric chuckled. “You know I will,” he said, before folding the phone and placing it back inside his ES as he mimed putting it in his pocket.
He turned to the impishly grinning lieutenant. “Thanks again,” he said as she saluted him and returned back to her shuttle while Eric made his way to the gates leading from the shuttle hub to the jump station proper, noting a pair of heavily armed men casually waving people through.
Eric couldn’t quite hold back his smile, the throbbing in his bones and the ache in his muscles seeming almost to fade in anticipation of a fresh new start, even if he was still a world away.
All it took was bracing himself and taking that first bold step… daring a realm of fat crops, beautiful farmland, unseen perils and unknown wonders. The start of a fresh new life in a realm that might be filled with Silver-Tier monsters or even Gold-Tier autarchs… but was quite possibly Eric’s only hope of achieving his dreams, which most definitely included a life free of pain.
He took a final longing look the way he had come, knowing he was leaving his old life far behind before turning back around and taking that first bold step towards a fresh start where he would cut all the ties from his past, save his fiduciary ones… and finally be free.
Of course that was the moment the entire station rang with alarms and Eric realized he was an idiot when the pair of guards jolted out of their stupor to glare his way.
“Halt! Halt where you are right now!” The pair roared, now moving so slowly, like statues, really, while Eric’s Battletime flared and Eric realized what an idiot he was.
So long embracing who he was with the power that was his own that he had forgotten to hide it. Which was incredibly STUPID with the ring on his finger that could so easily hide him. Yet he only wasted a moment in regret as the powerfully built mercenary before him stiffened with a curse before slowly raising his hands when multiple blaster rifles and what looked like an automated turret honed in on him, Eric using the distraction to alter himself utterly without visibly changing anything at all.
Within seconds the scarred mercenary was being hustled away with the tired look in his eyes of a man used to hair-triggered low-level security, though his takedown, cuffing and extraction, which Eric had noted the merc had wisely had made no move to resist, had definitely sent the nearby folk into an anxious tizzy.
“What did he do? It all happened so quickly.”
“Terrorist. I’ll bet he was going to bomb the space station!”
“Unlikely. The guy looked like a mercenary.”
“Did you feel his killing aura? I thought I was going to puke!”
Those comments and more washed over Eric as he smiled and was waved on through by the harried-looking replacement security after she brushed an oddly pulsating electromana wand over him… clearly detecting nothing untoward at all.
“Please enter, and welcome to Titan Prime’s premier trade port hub!”
Eric smiled politely at the rehearsed welcome he was sure the lady uttered at least a thousand times per day.
Yet as much as he felt a warm smile tug at his lips when he spied the glass windowed shops so like the glitzy Incheon airport mall he used to enjoy browsing with his twin whenever they had a layover in Korea. His lips couldn’t help curving in a smile when he saw the boxed selections of confectionaries, ‘I love Titan Prime’ T-shirts with cartoon-style gi-wearing martial artists alongside crossed stalks of wheat and rice, and a whole host of tour guide books showcased so invitingly in the store windows he strolled passed. Though what caught his eyes sufficient for him to stop and step out of the pedestrian foot traffic were the ‘guaranteed Qi-friendly’ laptops, which definitely claimed his attention for a good minute. His interest was obvious enough to catch the attention of the shopkeeper, a cheerfully smiling young woman who he would have pegged as Chinese Han, were it not for her gorgeous violet eyes and the tiny glossy nubs poking through her braided hair, who was waving at him to come in and give her products a closer look...
But Eric couldn’t resist the siren call of the friendly loudspeaker voice informing all station-goers that the next rail line heading to the jump gate would be parting in just minutes. And maybe he did use a tiny bit more than the 10 Quickness mortal average of so many souls eager to start their new lives to slip through the crowd... for all that Eric’s nose tingled with the scent of scores of Professionals even if not that many actual combat classers among the throng. No doubt farmers eager to start their new lives, and suddenly Eric was before the sliding doors of the bullet train-like passenger car that had just dinged itself open.
He knew it was idiotic for someone who had helped shape the fate of an entire nation and forged territories filled with the stuff of dream and legends. But his jaw was still hanging at the sleek, clean, futuristic-looking luxury liner that simultaneously reminded him so much of the orient express, complete with suited gentlemen and sleekly attired ladies all typing away at actual laptops, making it clear that despite all that had been lost in the world he had loved… echoes of it thrived still in the galaxy at large, so filled with magic, hyper-sophisticated science, Spiritual Energy and wonder as he could hope to find in—
“Move, kid. You’re blocking the way!” Grumbled a rough-voiced middle-aged man holding a crying toddler as his obvious wife stared tired daggers in Eric’s back.
Eric winced apologetically. “Yeah, sorry about—”
“Just move, alright?” Snapped a young formally dressed woman, glaring at him through her perfectly styled chrome tinted bangs as she scooted past him. “Fucking rubes. Like we don’t have enough of them here, already.”
Eric blinked at the subvocalized muttering, more embarrassed than anything else as he quickly found a seat of his own. He wasted only a second, silently chuckling at his own social fumble, deciding it was actually quite refreshing, in a way, as he looked out the polymer window-pane clear window. Because he had stood there like a goof, just in awe of the adventure before him. An adventure that was old hat for most of these tired folk, or perhaps, like the family with drained parents and crying kids, were leaping into the unknown not out of a sense of excitement, but in the desperate hope for a better life.
Yet still. He refused to let jaded white-collar Professionals or tired farmers take away from the excitement he now felt, now trying very hard not to think about how different life was, how much more responsive to social norms he had to be, when he was using a Gold-tier artifact to cloak the entirety of his spiritual pressure. Not just not deliberately exerting himself, but cloaking himself so well that not even space station-tech artifacts were pinging his presence.
Of course it was for their benefit, not his own. Because him making this trip was a foregone fucking conclusion, no matter what stuffy bureaucrat would otherwise refuse to let him in. The only question was how many fucking bodies he’d bury that dared to get in his—
He shook his head, pushing away the dark thoughts.
“This is a clean slate, Eric Silver. The manic wildcard you had to be to survive your parents’ bullshit, and an entire galaxy mad at your parents’ bullshit, is now firmly in the fucking past. So let’s see what life can be like, if we’re not being forced into a corner by a crazy planetary ascension and a dozen factions out for blood.” Soothing words he said quietly under his breath, soft enough for no one to hear, he hoped.
If nothing else, a certain admiral who had lived up to the most exciting and hedonistic Kirkian adventures as shown on any campy Sci-fi special had been a fantasy come true, and savoring passion’s promise in warm saunas and chilly baths had been a great way to distract himself from his pain. Much like a certain Sylvan girl had once embraced for her own neuropathy. A girl he could have so easily have fallen for… if his enemy’s spite hadn’t taken her away.
He closed his eyes, fists clenched, fiercely embracing the memory of Song’s final horrified moments before Eric had cleaved that fucker in half. Obliterating his foe on the pyre of his own ascension as he had done every other asshole that had dared to strike at Eric and those he cherished.
“And all that’s over, now. So let it go. The past is past. No need for guilt or regret, no need to let my enemies live rent free in my head. Not when most of them are finally dead.”
The train door’s swooshed close, distant flashing red lights and an angry buzzing forcing harried-looking people to step back from the safety line as the train began to accelerate, a soothing feminine voice then coming over the speakers.
“We will arrive at the jump portal entrance in sixty seconds. Please power down any and all electromana devices, unless specifically certified for high Spiritual Energy zones. Bags and water bottles are provided under your seat in case of motion sickness.”
And those words… accompanied by the feel of the train gliding along its tracks was all he needed to finally push away the last of his brooding thoughts, imagining them breaking up like rain clouds before a glorious summer day.
“I don’t know why they need to announce that. Security already confiscated all our fucking property. Advising us to buy a new laptop and transfer all our files there, as if we had the money for that, when it took everything we had to get here!” One of the passengers muttered bitterly, before being mollified by her partner’s soothing words.
Eric kept all his focus on the brilliant flare of crackling rainbow-hued light the train was rapidly approaching, the long spoke-like tunnel they were riding down growing oddly dim as the portal light grew painfully bright. A flare so intense it became his entire world as his ears rang with the sound of golden light, the crash of waves against the beach, and the magic taste of wonder.
Yet more than anything else, his body thrummed with the sudden surge of brilliant life and light flooding every cell of his body as he opened tear-filled eyes to find that nothing had changed.
Everything had changed.
They were still in a tunnel, the train going at the exact same speed it had a heartbeat before.
Yet the air was now alive with endless possibility and tears were in his eyes and the awful ache in his bones was easing for the first time in days as his muscles tingled not with agony or soreness, but the warm feel of a good workout. A workout that promised sweet gains as his muscles greedily drank in Qi washing over them all like an invisible wave of relief and wonder.
Eric squeezed his eyes shut, uttering a silent grateful prayer, ignoring the warm tears covering his cheeks, because it didn’t matter that the train was filled with jaded corpos and tired passengers.
His pain was finally easing!
As if every cell of his body was taking sips of ice cold lemonade after a day scorching in the sun. And for the first time since leaving his home and traveling in the cold, souless, Spirit Energy deprived depths of space, he could once more feel the wondrous taste of endless possibilities and Spiritual Energy in the air.
And if his beautifully forged Arcadian sanctuary had been an oasis of serenity and wonder, a gentle current of endless possibility, then he had just splashed into a veritable ocean of gloriously rich revitalizing energies.
Lips strained in a pained grimace he had held in check for so long eased into exhausted relief as the announcer’s voice filled the air once more.
“On behalf of NanDushi Eternal Rail-Lines, welcome to Titan Prime.”
His eyes widened, immediately noting the difference. And the looks on so many first time passengers made it clear he wasn’t the only one who had picked up on it.
“The voice sounds different!” A rough voice noted.
“It sounded so musical!” A young toddler whispered to her mother.
And it was true. A sense of harmony and wholeness in the air that could be felt by all of them. But it was so much more than that, Eric thought, among the first to leave his seat when the darkness of the tunnel gate became the bright light of a fresh new day, Eric squinting only momentarily as he spied a city full of soaring sky scrapers of glass and shining steel. They were now streaking past blocks and blocks of stately buildings broken up by occasional patches of forest green, looking so much like the glossiest versions of any cyberpunk city he had ever seen in one of his mother’s movies as they road along one of many elevated rail lines looping around the giant sprawling towers dominating the heart of the sparkling megalopolis that was NanDushi city.
“Look mom, I see the ocean!”
Eric too found his heart filling with renewed wonder as the cityscape broke up just enough for him to catch sight of a magnificent ocean stretching out endlessly, in ways that brought chills to his spine, despite his wonder when he noticed a pair of eerie valley oddities. It took him several moments to put his finger on it, even as Battletime allowed him to appreciate the view for so many more subjective moments than the average passenger.
One was that the sense of endless vastness was heightened because the way the ocean kissed the horizon was both strangely different than what he recalled while looking at the horizon on the Jersey shore.
It was the curve, he realized.
There was hardly any at all. And with his Perception being so high… he could see and sense the raw vastness so much better than the 15 Perception mortal boy he had been, not that long ago.
The horizon hinted at a vastness beyond all scope and comprehension.
But what truly chilled him was the way the waters abruptly shifted and changed color. Of course he knew from his own experiences that the sea rarely looked anything like blue, especially the Mediterranean sea. Depending on how the light hit it, it could be light blue, a deep blue that was almost black, bright or murky green, even silver. Especially at sunrise and sunset. But this? He was somehow glimpsing an ocean beyond the ocean, countless miles past the shore. The transition was sharp and well-defined, aqua-colored liquid abruptly became giant waves of violet hue that peaked and crashed far more rapidly and violently than water should.
It was as if there were somehow two bodies of liquid in play.
Eric could only stare even as his mind raced with questions.
How could the ocean be comprised of two bodies of liquid? Not just different hues, but wildly different properties. Was the liquid even water? OR something else? Just how alien and strange was this world? Was this realm a cultivation paradise, or a giant island surrounded by some bubble of incredibly potent Spiritual Energy even now easing ever more aches and pains his Willpower had made it so easy for him to push away. Was that pressure somehow keeping at bay strange liquid oceans and toxic violent atmospheres more worthy of a Jupiterean nightmare world than a mystical cultivation realm?
Eric couldn’t help wincing when he spied several odd looking sea craft out in the deep sea. A tiny part of him was reassured… before noting that not a single vessel dared cross that barrier he had sensed. Not one.
Yet the odd sense of creeping peril he felt faded to a child’s wonder when the gently sloping tracks turned yet again, revealing a marvel that left him breathless.
“Look at that, mom! The mountains are so green!”
Eric couldn’t help but smile in shared amazement with any number of tired travelers who now brimmed with just a fraction of the eager excitement he also felt. Though it wasn’t a mountain so much as the gently sloping side of a massive plateau that looked as high as Mount Everest, yet instead of a snow-capped peak, it was a continuous verdant barrier, and he still had to squint to understand that the rich green hue wasn’t forest but countless terraced rice fields, showcasing an agricultural masterwork utterly beyond the scale of anything ever attempted back on Earth.
For these rice patties stretched endlessly upon slopes regularly dotted with sparkling waterfalls and what he could only guess were extensive irrigation-works that stretched as far as the eye could see in both directions. Even more remarkable was that the awesome spectacle only took up a tiny sliver of the horizon. Because the demarcation between rich farmlands and what must have been the home of the cultivators and a dozen world’s worth of wonders, opportunities, mystical treasures and perhaps Gold-tier peril at the heart of it all was a good fifty miles away.
Stolen story; please report.
It was a size and scope he wouldn’t have a hope of appreciation without Battletime and 1700 or so Perception. Even so, he knew he was only getting the barest sense of just how remarkable and wondrous Titan Prime truly was. Because as impressive as the megalopolis they rode past was, with enormous buildings of glass and exotic steel alloys and stone stretching far inland, there were miles upon miles of forests and fields between the shoreline and the distant mist-shrouded slopes beyond.
Before he could analyze any further, the view was eclipsed by megalithic architecture once more, the train finally slowing down as they approached a massive pyramidal structure with an arched tunnel in its heart that the train rode right into before slowly came to a stop.
The speakers once more crackled to life.
“You have arrived at NanDushi customs. Please disembark in an orderly fashion. All citizens may show their ID for expedited subway and surface access. All other passengers, please follow designated personnel to processing.”
A dazed Eric, luxuriating in the wondrous sensation of happily tingling muscles and utterly pain-free movement, allowed himself to be carried by the flow of the crowd. He passed multiple shops and kiosks, so reminiscent of busy train stations and pre-apocalypse malls that it was utterly surreal. Yet as tempted as he was to lose himself for minutes or hours browsing while lost in reverie… that would do nothing to help him move forward.
No, he thought, gazing down at his feet clacking the tiles mirroring the most sophisticated looking suits among the crowd, blue jeans and a very special leather belt cloaked in a sleek, form fitting suit as his hair subtly darkened from bright golden blond to a dirty blond as he slipped past a softly arguing couple glaring daggers at each other to coal black when he slipped past a distracted woman scowling at her watch, was soon making his way amongst totally unfamiliar faces as he spied an information desk of all things, presently being run by a professionally dressed young woman doing her best to attend to the needs of scowling man wearing a long white smock radiating the aura of a professional. “That’s just not good enough. These issues were supposed to be addressed, days ago!” Eric caught the man saying before parting with an angry shake of his head.
The strained smile on the young woman’s face crinkled in a genuine grin when she caught sight of Eric, hands behind his back, waiting his turn to be seen.
“Welcome to NanDushi, sir. My name is Lizmy. How can I help you, today?”
Eric wore the smile of a man of means eager for fresh pursuits and conquests. And thanks to his ring, the Eric before her looked a bit older, a bit more experienced, his potency still understated but not absent. Maybe a half-step Bronze keeping a tight rein on things who was eager to explore whatever secrets or wonders Titan Prime might have for one such as him.
He smoothly flipped out the brochure he had on hand. “I must say your outer system representatives are wonderful at their jobs. Everything I’ve read so far paints Prime as a wonderful tourist destination. Is it true you have seasonal surf boarding competitions, along with bi-weekly festivals and yachting expeditions?”
Lizmy positively beamed, looking picture perfect in her cute navy blue uniform. “Indeed we do, sir. NanDushi prides itself to being a premier tourist destination for travelers from all parts of the galactic system! In addition to our festivals, water sports, and cultural extravaganzas, we’re also the top grain producer in the entire galaxy! Over a score of planets rely on us to take care of their sustenance needs, and dozens more make significant purchases of the best quality rice, maize, and wheat you’ll find anywhere! Rich with mystical energies that cleanse your body of impurities, assure healthy and happy children, and a mind blazing with professional insights!” She winked. “And if you enjoy quality high-end fare, we also host some of the best bakers and restaurants according to clinary critics galaxy-wide! Our food tours and bar crawls are nothing short of legendary!”
Eric rubbed his hands, eyes twinkling in shared excitement. “So I heard! I swear, you’re as enticing as the sales representative visiting our duchy! Is it true that NanDushi also hosts award-winning fencing academies?” He chuckled deprecatingly. “Of course everyone’s seen the fabled ‘heavenly plateau’ movies back home, with mystical cultivators darting through the heavens unleashing their magical powers while battling with mystic swords in the heavens. Those martial arts displays… so epic, so wonderful, I refused to believe my instructors saying those academies were exclusive to Titan Prime’s elite! Please tell me you accept outworld students as well?”
His enthusiasm earned a gentle chuckle. “Of course! NanDushi prides itself on having the premier People’s Martial Arts Academy among all the major lowland cities. And it’s open to absolutely everyone who wishes to learn the arts of spear, sword, archery, dance, feng shui, and meditation! It’s wonderful to hear that our culture is gaining such renown and we pride ourselves on hosting yearly competitions with the elite academies within all of Titan Prime’s major cities!”
Eric’s eyes brightened with unfeigned excitement. “Truly, can I compete in these yearly events as well?”
Lizmy flashed him a sympathetic smile. “Regrettably, these competitions are reserved for native purists alone. Please understand, it’s no insult to our wonderful guests and tourists… more respecting our own cultural heritage and honoring our elder’s concerns of outside ‘influences’ unfairly affecting the outcome of said competitions.”
Eric gave a sympathetic smile. “You mean the System, right?”
Lizmy’s smile tightened. “Precisely. Not that we have anything against that wonderful resource here in the lowlands… many of our top firms purposefully scout out and hire such professionals, rare as they are, here. And the farmers who grow such wonderful abundant crops are frequently made up of professional Farmers and their offspring who carry the same gifts. Yet there are more… ahem… violent and perilous manifestations of that ‘System.’ fortunately, such doesn’t manifest here at all. There are no… what’s the word?”
“Ascension Facilities? Pods?”
Her eyes brightened. “Exactly! In fact, arguably, it’s an entirely different phenomenon that happens with our own professional classes, where the true elites find themselves blessed with insights and the ability to clarify and quantify their knowledge and skills in unexpected directions when properly blessed by their mentors. Mentors who are often as not their elders, well-versed in family businesses or traditions. But only the most elite academics, workers, and clans are able to tap into this phenomenon. Arguably, it’s completely different from whatever Professions are in the realm our wonderful guests hail from… but its close enough that we categorize them as equally elite.”
Eric dipped his head solemnly. “So, we can learn from the best martial artists in NanDushi, but actually competing in the yearly games is out.” He then leaned closer, voice lowering in an excited whisper as he excitedly pointed to a vividly portrayed temple surrounded by mist shrouded fields in the center of the brochure. “Is it true, though?”
This earned a polite frown. “Is what true?”
“Can we learn to cultivate while we’re here?”
She blinked in surprise, before a delicate hand reached for the pamphlet that Eric dutifully surrendered. “That shouldn’t be…” her brow creased in exasperation. “Who would be so crass as to…”
She sighed, flashing a pained smile. “Please accept NanDushi’s most sincere apologies. I fear an old batch of pamphlets is still circulating. Though its true that a few decades ago we did have several academies here in NanDushi willing to teach basic forms to all… ahem… worthy applicants, even those hailing from the under realm… sorry! I meant to say our friends in the galaxy at large!” She said, flushing brightly. “But NanDushi edicts have since made it clear that inferior forms of cultivation were not to be practiced or encouraged in the unworthy.”
“I see,” Eric said after a long, thoughtful pause. “How… regrettably unexpected. So, how would a guest pursue cultivation studies while visiting the most Qi intense realm in the entire galaxy?”
“You don’t, outworlder. Are you stupid? Or just trying to make trouble for a hardworking government employee? Your interrogation has no place here!”
Eric clenched the hot flare of ire he felt as he turned to face the scowling man holding a leather briefcase and wearing a charcoal grey power suit quite similar to the ones any of the professionals in the L line had been wearing.
The man’s lip curled, glaring as he met Eric’s cool gaze. “Some of us actually live here and have deadlines. Now if you’re done interrogating this poor employee, why don’t you go on one of the dozen tours arranged for your time-wasting pleasure, right beyond the customs processing centers. That’s where you can learn all the answers to any legitimate question you might have, without taking up the precious time of people who actually work for a living!”
Eric blinked, momentarily bemused by an insult that seemed so unprofessional, so fucking steroetypical! His bemusement turned to genuine surprise when he received an interface message he had been bracing himself not to expect for the duration of his visit. Yet no matter what he had been led to believe, the message was as bold and snarky as ever.
Unified Perception check: Successful! You sense the Spiritual Energy flowing through the failed cultivator before you!
And it was true. Now that this power suit was deliberately flaring his aura in an attempt to cow him like he was the wide-eyed girl at the kiosk who was visibly flinching, Eric could sense so clearly that which was put on bold display, without any need for a serious skill check at all.
Yon Smith – Rank 4 Cleansing Stage (Alternate Paradigm!) Cultivator.
St 33 / Vit 34 / Fin 36 / Quick 42 / Appearance (Handsome, and he clearly hates you!) / Spiritual Energy 37
Yon glared Eric’s way. “Leave. Now.”
Eric gazed thoughtfully at the glaring Yon for long seconds, giving the tiniest of nods. He had nothing to lose, really. He could effortlessly cast off this mask that he hadn’t even had to make up a name for.
No reason not to pull the lion’s tail, and see what came out of it.
“Sure, Yon. We could do that.”
Yon’s thick eyebrows flared, powerful fists clenched, holding the handle of his briefcase like the hilt of a long forgotten weapon.
“How the hell do you know—”
“Or, maybe you could give me some kung fu pointers. What do you say, kung fu brother?” Eric cracked his knuckles, mocking Yon with a cold smile. “And while we’re doing that, maybe you can tell me why a Rank 4 Cleansing Stage cultivator gave up all his dreams of power and glory, breathing the Qi-rich air of absolute freedom, to work as some powerless arrogant mortal’s bitch in the corporate world?”
Yon dropped his briefcase, fists clenched tightly. “You don’t know what the hell your talking about, you arrogant shit! You think daring a cultivator’s path is anything like its portrayed in novels or asinine dramas? You think its all shadow-stepping across rice patties and learning at the feet of benevolent masters?” Yon inhaled, ready to belt out who knew what insults and choice bits of gossip in the heat of the moment, before he froze, gazing at Eric with tight-fisted horror.
“No. There’s no way you could know my...” He blanched, spun around and hurried off without another word.
Eric smirked as Lizmy shuddered, wide-frightened eyes gazing his way with dismay.
“Hey Yon! You want your briefcase?” Eric yelled at the retreating man. “You have an important business meeting slaving for your corporate overlords, am I right? I’ll bet they’d get a kick out of humiliating you in front of all your inferiors at work when you show up without all your precious documents, right before firing you! A man they’d be quaking in their boots for insulting, if the world of righteous cultivators here in the lowlands hadn’t been transformed into a dystopian corporate nightmare!”
Yet Eric’s cold smirk turned to a twist of discomfort when he saw the look of pained fury on Yon’s features when the man spun around, the veins on his necks popping as he clenched his jaw, his killing aura flaring, wild-eyed with the fury of someone who had been pushed beyond all limits.
Eric winced, then sighed and slid the man his briefcase across the smooth tiled floor.
“Sorry, I was being a bit of a jerk there, wasn’t I? That was totally uncalled for. I’m so used to goading psychotic assholes who need to die... not stressed guys trapped in 9-6 wage-slave hell. And now I’m the asshole. It wouldn’t make it any better if I reminded you that you’ll be outliving all your mortal coworkers by a good fifty years, would it?”
Yet Eric said none of that, sensing it would do no good at all. So he just turned around and walked away, shaking his head as he subtly changed his clothing, features, and hair to match his true self, his sleek suit replaced with blue jeans and a baggy hemp shirt that actually seemed to be pretty popular amongst the younger native-looking crowd, much like sweatshirts of Earth, not that long ago.
“Fuck, Bunbun. I wish your really were here,” he muttered under his breath. “Because even if Unified Perception’s working, my social perks clearly aren’t doing shit.”
He winced, accepting that reality. He had lost access to at least a sliver of the abilities that had once helped him find his place in social circles, even if he now felt both stronger and more alive than he had in a very long time.
He took a quick look at his character sheet, just to reassure himself that he could even pull it up, taking comfort in his basic attributes, even as he felt an awful spike of dismay, sensing how truly perilous his situation now was. Because the wrong step forward could easily kill him, making it so tempting to cut his losses and ascend right then and there, even if he had to give up on at least some of his dreams. Just like the poor schmuck guilty of nothing more than mouthing off to a stranger seemingly hitting on a station employ when the poor guy was already late for work.
-_____________________________________________________________-
Eric Silver - Level 99 PRISTINE GOLDEN PHOENIX (Adventurer)
(3rd Tier Core Saturation at 95.51%!) – 89.96%
You and your progeny may now ascend to Light Gold without any planetary sacrifices needed at all!
Rank 0 ELITE DISCIPLE (Eve’s Chosen)
(You’ll officially be Rank 1 Bronze, when you finally take out a foe worthy of you!)
Level 74 Master Necromancer
You like living, so you have voluntarily locked away your ability to raise the dead!
Actual Cultivation Path (Free of System Influence :D) – NONE (Yet!)
Your Official Power Equivalent: Rank 37 SILVER – (WOW!)
Physical Characteristics
Strength – 3769 (With Burst of Strength, you can shred pretty much any object, even those reinforced by higher order concepts, if they don’t exceed your WRATH! Super Punch man would be proud! Tungsten-reinforced bank vaults? You’re bursting them with ease!)
Vitality – 3773 (Your Vitality is worthy of a Silver-tier behemoth!)
Finesse – 1747 (You’re now as deadly as a Bronze-tier sniper. Even without all their perks!)
Quickness – 3018 (You’re over 150 times faster than an Olympic Fencer. ABSURD! Good thing Battletime makes pesky things like relativity, inertia, and air resistance strictly optional for you!)
Appearance – 40 (If this were pre-apocalypse, you would star in all your mother’s movies!)
Mental Characteristics
Scholarship – 43 (You’re still yourself, but your thoughts are clear and your memory is sharp!)
Perception – 1700 (A deadly marksman who always spots his prey. No one’s sneaking up on you!)
Willpower – 172 (You were forged in fire, and it shows!)
Charisma – 22 (13) (Sorry! No Charisma enhancement available with non System-incorporated natives!)
Potency Pools
Arcane Potential – 1508 (An Archmage would be proud to make you his prodigy!)
(Mana Pool = 18105)
Spiritual Energy – 4.5 (7) (You’re Spiritual Energy depletion is now ? mortal baseline! A THOUSANDTH of key attributes! You risk DEATH with the slightest misstep. NOTE! You are now in a Qi-Rich enviroment! Your body is now desperately drinking in Qi! Your Spiritual Energy has been elevated to a survivable and almost pain-free 7!)
(Qi Pool (you can access!) = 54)
Psionic Potency – 589 (Despite your flaws, you’re worthy of a Psion Knight’s regard.)
(Psion Pool = 7077)
Soul Reserves – 1736 (You could be a Master Necromancer... You ARE a Master Necromancer!)
Stamina – 37731 Points
Health – 43291 Points
Resistances & Recovery
Physical Resistance – 1508 (At this point, you could charge the Imperium’s Dreadnoughts at sub-light speed and THEY would be the ones to blow up on impact! NOTHING short of Deep Silver opponents or essence-infused attacks is damaging your flesh! With Battletime further cushioning the blows? You’re ABSURD!)
Physical Regeneration – 377 health per second (After triple-heart shots, it’s clear you DO need this!)
Elemental Resistance – 896 (Resistances this high means you’re basically immune to elemental magic, unless Higher Order concepts are in play! No Silver-tier master lacking essence-infused spells is stopping you, Hyperion Blazer!)
Qi Resistance – 709 (Shockingly high! Your Qi Resistance is now MANY TIMES your Spiritual Energy! BE CAREFUL, Body Cultivator! The wise warrior balances resilience with bountiful reserves!)
Mental Resistance – 754 (Even Silver-tier faerie enchantments, persuasion, and illusions will be revealed to you, unless Essences and Higher Order concepts are in play!)
Psionic Resistance – 565 (Dense Neurons mean squid-brains and Psion Lords like Song won’t find you easy prey at all!)
NOTE – Contrary to popular belief, you DO have access to your System abilities, and powers! Powers which, save for weapon feats, you don’t dare use with your shockingly depleted Spiritual Energy.
NOTE – Social Perk AND Charisma use is LIMITED! No more social crutches for you, Eric. Sensing death coming might be second nature to you. But for everything else, your friendly silver brain worms (who love you truly!) can’t help your painfully Dense Neurons decipher monkey-behaviors in this realm!
-____________________________________________________________-
Eric winced upon spotting the too cheerful interface messages at the end of his character sheet, forced to accept that he was no longer a brilliant, destined, and oh-so-very-deadly hero who’s flashes of mad insight allowed him to escape the noose perpetually looping for his neck. Escape it before ending whatever fuck had thought he was easy meat.
Now he was just one more ex soldier royally fucked in the head, his bloodlust spiking if anyone so much as looked at him wrong. Eager for killing intent from a guy who was clearly stressed, who hadn’t been goading him like an arrogant ‘young master’ at all. No. His ridiculous 43 Scholarship— which would probably mean far more in an actually gifted student or scholar like his sister—at least gave him a painfully clear memory, and he recalled all too clearly Yon’s words.
“Are you stupid? Or just trying to make trouble for a hardworking government employee? Your interrogation has no place here!”
As much as Eric had felt a jolt of hot frustration, his attempts at finding a backdoor way to living the cultivation life of his fantasies belittled as if he were one more over-eager otaku pleading and grasping for things his greasy fingers had no right to touch… as much as a dark, bitter part of him had been eager to use the man’s own surprising status as a broken cultivator, thinking to somehow use it to pry or unlock whatever secrets sneering elitists like Yon were deliberately holding back from him… Eric wasn’t the wronged hero, here.
By Yon’s own words, he had been worried about Lizmy, looking at Eric as if he was the one trying to shake the poor assistant down for information it wasn’t his right to hear.
Eric groaned, rubbing his temples as he slipped through the crowd. “Fuck, was I the baddie, here?” As much he loathed the thought, if he was honest with himself… an outsider looking in… yeah. He had been the overpowered young master trying to goad a stressed salaryman when he couldn’t squeeze what he wanted from an employee literally trapped behind her kiosk.
And what would have happened if the guy had actually charged him, after Eric mocked the man with a subject that, for all he knew, was culturally absolutely taboo to talk about?
Eric felt a cold spike of dismay in his gut.
Would he have actually struck Yon? With fists that, even without unleashing any active weapon feat, spell, or Qi ability at all… would hit as hard as any orc 24-pounder.
Eric flashed a bitter smile as he spotted the customs sign and the politely smiling pair of uniformed men waving so many of the crowd forward.
Who the fuck was he kidding? His fists now hit a hell of a lot harder than any orc artillery ever put on any battlefield.
He was damaged goods with a chip on his shoulder the size of a dreadnought. He was a bitter young master who was strong as fuck… and ripe as hell for a karmically aligned hero to smack him in his place.
If he was trying to blend in as an average Joe, or better yet, a young student eager to learn what it meant to embrace a new culture, even if it meant laughing off a few cultural blunders or tense situations... he really wasn’t off to a good start.
“Do better, Eric,” he muttered to himself under his breath. “New York is done. Elonia is safe. Now put on that happy smile and let’s see if there’s any path forward that allows for a happy ending, maybe opens a whole new wonderful class, or at least doesn’t end in tears and blood.”
