Chapter 59

Nic was still grinning as he sank into the earth and vanished.

The musician was a dangerous, unpredictable opponent, but one who relied on bizarre and surprising attacks to keep an enemy at bay; his physical strength was nothing much to talk about. Luring him into a trap had squarely negated those advantages and forced him into the worst possible position…

And accordingly, he’d had to spend his treasures of last resort to survive and escape.

Even if it wasn’t a kill, it was a victory, because he’d exhausted his enemy’s resources and destroyed his weapon.

And better yet, the next time they met…

Nic would have advanced, not just by one step, but by a qualitative leap.

As he formed a cavern around himself in the sand, Nic brought out the Plates of the Sun God’s Dictate. He’d finally completed his collection. As they emerged from his bag, they flew into the air, and the rust and decay that covered the bronze tablets began to flake away as the metal beneath glowed radiantly in the dark.

With each one that flew out, the light redoubled, until Nic was surrounded by six golden suns. Slowly the burning tablets fused into each other, going from six to three, from three to one. That final tablet turned to a blazing gold and descended before him.

Book of the Sun’s Zenith. E-Class // Treasured Artifact. This tablet contains an ancient cultivation technique derived from the study and worship of the sun, capable of redoubling the practitioner’s Essence capacity and letting them fly through the air. Following this path grants an innate ability, The Zenith’s Wrath. It was practiced by ancient kings of a long-forgotten people. The tablet itself can produce a miraculous shield, which lasts for ten breaths and can be conjured once each dawn.

For too long…

Nic had been cultivating with the most basic, System-given methods. Although he had consumed immense amounts of Essence from this rich world and used them to polish and refine the meridian nodes within his body, corresponding to his Shards, inherent powers, and Techniques…

There was no greater to shape to it. No unifying method that brought these things together, only raw power being refined by the System’s will.

Flying through the air? It was a dream. Methods like that belonged to the cultivators who were born far above Nic’s station, and would never look down to see the people living in their shadow. They belonged to far-off sects and holy mountains where only the most powerful could ascend. True cultivation methods weren’t the product of one lifetime, but of thousands of years of refinement…

In short.

Getting his peasant hands on something like this was almost sacrilegious, and Nic enjoyed that as much as he did the anticipation of growing stronger.

As the tablet floated down to the earth, the hieroglyphs arranged themselves into System script. Nic took it in hand and began to study, reading through constellations that need to be created between his core nodes, ways to restructure the flow of Essence within his veins, even a transformative technique that would need to be undergone in the base of his cultivation…

“Sofia? Can you help me with this? I need to do all of this, and quickly. They probably know I’m tunneling by now, so I’m running out of time to make progress.”

“I can, Nicolas, but I also have to advise against it. This is a true cultivation method, and not a simple one that a novice would normally begin with. Our bond allows me to interfere with your cultivation enough that I can make it possible for you to learn quickly… But it’s still unwise. Altering your cultivation base so drastically will cause damage, perhaps irreparable damage…”

Nic hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

“I’ve only been cultivating for over a month, Sofia. Really cultivating, I mean. If I have to rip up my roots and start over after this, then that’s the price I’ll pay, so long as it gives me the strength to survive the next few battles.”

He accepted that. It would be a loss if he had to start again, and a loss of time, which was the most precious resource he could offer right now–

Second only to his life.

“I see. You’re becoming ruthless, Nicolas. It’s a welcome change– but I’d prefer for you to be ruthless with other people, rather than yourself.”

“Other people can make their own choices. This is mine.”

“So it is. Let’s begin then, Nicolas. I’ll try to protect you as best I can…”

---

Inside of Nicolas, a fire began to burn. It was a compacted core of all his energy, all his Essence. The radiant power that normally flowed through his veins was drawing inwards, like a sea at low tide, gravitating down into the base of his cultivation in streams and ribbons of unruly power. He guided them as best he could, and felt Sofia’s cold, calculating mind shepherding the rest, keeping the barely-constrained currents from raging out of control.

His consciousness was entirely withdrawn to deal with this internal matter, but he could still vaguely feel his body. His breathing was steady and slow-paced. Slimy sweat dripped across his brow and down his chin.

He was weaker than he’d been since arriving on this world. All his aura and strength was draining away, pouring in towards the center, leaving nothing behind.

On the cave walls around him, Nic had scrawled countless diagrams and Sofia had instructed him in equally many equations. They were the schema of his new cultivation base, figuring out how to adapt the book’s writings to deal with his unique constitution, his demonic corruption, and whatever strange forces the Aleph exerted on him.

It was something only Sofia could have done, and it was the only reason they had a chance of pulling this off…

As the energy within him reached a critical mass, it began to surge against itself, growing less and less stable. The inner ‘sun’ he was forming by compacting his aura and Essence began to burn itself up, fire rushing out in sudden explosions that kicked against his dantian core and sent pain surging up through his meridian lines, threatening to crack them apart.

Sofia’s cold energy swept out to counter the damage, preventing things from spilling out of control…

And Nic focused on pushing the sun deeper into itself, compacting the energy further, further…

Until something gave way and the entire sphere of radiant Essence collapsed into golden-red flame. A sun expanded within Nic’s chest, shining outwards from his body. The constellations he’d created by linking his meridian nodes shone brightly, acting to contain the blaze; they acted to prevent the combustion from destroying him entirely.

Still, cracks extended through his being. His channels were almost shattered.

For a long moment Nic’s body was immobile with agony, trying to resist the sensation of his entire body being engulfed in flames; the fire was inside him. It was eating him from the inside out. Then the pain receded, washing back as he held the energy in an iron vise.

Moment by moment, his breathing returned to normal. Life flooded back into his veins, restoring him slowly. The difference was… it was exhilarating.

Before, his energy had been a pressurized river flowing from meridian to meridian. Now, it felt warm, a gentle fire spreading outwards. It made him feel as if he was soaking in the light of the sun; it filled him and made his cells resonate with a single, pulsating power. His entire body felt attuned to a single power…

His heartbeat sung like a drum. His lungs followed the rhythm.

Nic stood.

He felt powerful. As he thrust out a fist, he could feel his aura move with ease down the pathways, and extend more readily into the flesh; the energy flooded through every cell of his body and made them sing like a golden bell.

The motion held no more power than before. But the power it contained had been fundamentally changed; it was more orderly, more focused. His striking had a pinpoint pressure that made the air seethe and burn around his knuckles.

It felt good.

As his consciousness flooded back into his exterior body, he began to exercise, stretching and pushing his body to feel the way the energy rolled through his muscles. As he sparred with his shadow, he could feel the difference. He was more reactive, more flexible. He could control the energy within each motion with an ease that felt like night and day to how he was before.

And that energy felt inexhaustible. A well of endless power inside his chest.

“Cultivation map.”

Essence 324 / 276,720

+ 62.544 per Minute

(5.212 Base)

500% Local Modifier

+ 100% Dominion

+ Devoured an E-Class enemy (200%)

+ Consumed a F-Class treasure (100%)

+ Rested in toxic environment (300%)

A factor of ten.

His Essence capacity had increased by a factor of ten.

As for his gains per minute, they had nearly doubled.

Nic actually felt faintly dizzy as he examined the display to make sure he’d read it correctly. “Double…”

That was the kind of power a cultivation method granted. It made Nic feel so many things. Exhilaration, yes. But also anger that others were born to this kind of advantage. A restless desire to gain more, consume more, to swallow up the world’s treasures and techniques, all the things that had been denied to him.

He closed his eyes and felt the sun blazing inside his chest.

“How much damage did this do?”

“You… you don’t want to know Nic. You should be fine for now– but attempting to advance to E-Class in this state would mean certain death.”

“I can live with that.” Nic said. It felt distant. E-Class was still a month away, if not more. A lot could happen in a month…

If need be he could start over, and climb back up.

The road was endless.

All that walking it required was that you stay alive, by any means necessary.

Any means necessary… He reminded himself.

“So long as you’re alive, we’ll find the way forward.” Sofia agreed.