Day 2 of the Nhatz Calendar

  You did your customary wake, wash, and stumble back to the hut as before. Your Qi was becoming more 'solid' to your senses by the day. There was something that stuck in your mind as you thought about yesterday, the Qi Control class and the teacher's pipe.

  It was some sort of plant that was enhancing your Qi abilities. You knew some people back home smoked some plants cause it relaxed them even if they smelled terrible. Could such a plant just be growing outside your hut and you had no clue?

  It didn't take long to find a class that was what you needed.

  'Spiritual Herbs and their Uses' which was taught by Instructor Bright.

  As you left your hut and walked towards the center of the compound, you stopped near hut 18. Two students in white robes were talking to Pola, that girl you met yesterday in Instructor Kie's class.

  "Come on, you'll be doing us a huge favor. That thing cost a lot in the store and the instructor just gave you one. Just lend to us and we'll give it back when we're done," the older girl said with a smile.

  "I wanted to... I haven't finished..." Pola began but the boy spoke up.

  "Come on, Pola. You'll be such a good person if you do it. We're just in rank 20 and 21, don't you have pity for us?" he asked, smiling at Pola as if they were good friends.

  "I..." Pola hesitated and you frowned.

  "Pola," you said and the two newcomers turned in surprise.

  "Uh, we were just-" the boy began and you narrowed your eyes at him and something very strange happened.

  Sea of Consciousness

  Dei: 1

  Boy: 0

  Girl: 0

  The two shook as if a heavy weight set on them like a cloak before they muttered how they had to go and ran like you were holding a sword to their necks. It was almost like your 'self' clashed with theirs but they had no boundaries or form so you just crashed through their confidence with ease.

  That was a little scary.

  "Thank you," Pola let out a sigh once the two were gone.

  "What did they want?" you asked as you watched her lock her hut with her sleeve. Wait... the huts could lock?

  Your sleeve could do that?

  Clothes that had pockets were amazing enough, but magic sleeves that held your merits and acted like a key was even better!

  Pola saw your stare and blushed.

  "Inscription class, yesterday. The instructor showed us a few tricks," she said with a shy smile. Pola beckoned your closer as she showed you how to wave your sleeve to the door and twist your wrist in a certain manner to activate the hidden function.

  You could feel Qi stored in the robe flow at the motion and do a dozen things you could not keep a track of. Your robe clearly didn't work on Pola's hut but the experience was amazing.

  Inscription: 1/10

  Pola waved as you rushed back to lock your own door before heading on to Herb class. Pola said she was going back to a healer course.

  The lesson took place just outside the main gate on the road to leave the Golden Forest. The guards were still in sight as a woman appeared with her hair in pigtails and carrying a long staff over one shoulder.

  This was the spiritual herb teacher?

  She looked ready to crack skulls, not talk about roots and petals.

  "Come close, my malleable students. Come gaze upon the marvel that is your instructor today," she said with a very pleased expression.

  "Is... is this Spiritual Herbs class?" someone asked and the woman blinked.

  "Why wouldn't it be?" she asked, leaning on her staff with a puzzled expression.

  There was a beat of silence.

  "All my family's gardeners had a softer appearance and didn't look ready for combat," someone said and you turned to see the blond kid from hut one speaking. The Instructor stared at him.

  "Softer?" she echoed as if the phrase was spoken in an alien language.

  "Oi oi!" she said a moment later, stamping her foot on the soil.

  "I am Instructor Bright and I'm not only the most mature softest woman this side of the continent, I am also an expert in plants, materials, and other key things to be found in this first! You, brat, what's your name? Or do I need to find your family's nanny to ask her?" the instructor asked and the blond kid's eyes widened slightly before his lips went thin.

  "Kai Winters," he said with a tone that suggested he was holding back how he felt at that moment.

  "Okay, little snowflake. As I am not only more mature, but also beautiful, your big sister senior will forgive your insolence this time. See how kind I am?" she winked and you were a little star struck at the sheer confidence before you.

  "This junior appreciates his very senior's benevolence," Kai said with a near bite and Instructor Bright nodded in slow nod, taking in his words. She twirled her staff, planting in the ground where it remained rooted.

  "Alright, fun and games are over. Listen in because from this point on, merits will be tossed out or taken away because these aren't your friendly herbs or flowers we shall be discussing," she warned, her tone shifting to be almost like a drill sergeants and the tone was like a whiplash.

  She gestured to a green weed at her feet that didn't stand out at all from all the other green around it.

  "Anyone know what this is?" she asked and there was silence.

  "It's a mild irritant when it touches the skin and has no use in cultivation. It's called 'Nibble Fox'" Instructor Bright said and you looked around, finding more of the plant in places, one a little too close to your feet.

  "However, you may be shocked to know it is used in over twenty different medical potions and cultivation pills as an ingredient. Isn't that neat? Useless on its own but its value shines elsewhere. How many plants do you think you've passed that look like any other but may change someone's life if someone knows how?" Instructor Bright said with a grin as she chewed some Nibble Fox and a few students winced.

  "I got an Iron rank body, I need something a lot more potent to bother me. It just tingles these days," she grinned.

  "What about plants that naturally increase one's cultivation?" someone asked and the instructor patted her staff.

  "That is where this comes in," she said without any hint of humor.

  The teacher went on to talk about how the more potent a plant or herb produced natural Qi, the more likely something nasty would nest around it or near it. Even the weakest of such herbs could have poisonous snakes or wolves in close proximity.

  "This is why herb gardens are valuable and aren't accessible to just anyone. It's a risk-free environment with some very powerful tools," she went on.

  "And that's not even talking about the spiritual plants that decided to cut out the middleman and decide to become monstrous in their own right. I once had to hunt down a Demon's Fang Vine and I couldn't eat a salad for a year," Instructor Bright shivered.

  "This class is good for three things," she promised.

  "Alchemy, healing, and mastering the environment around you. Some of your classmates might spend thirty merits on a weed you can find ten minutes down the road. Don't have your head in the heavens so much you forget to look at the earth," she said and she sounded like a proper instructor at that moment.

  Bright then smiled.

  "Didn't that sound cool?" she asked and the image popped like a soap bubble.

  You were gonna like this class.

  Herbology skill unlocked. 1/10 gained.

  ---

  Thinking of Pola and then of the sheet that Instructor Kie gave you made you think of merits. Other than getting some out of Qi Control class, you were still five days away from getting another five from the daily allowance.

  It was turning out to be a long way away if you ever wanted to buy something...

  Using your map, you found directions to a peculiar tree near the center of the open town where dozens of scrolls had been pressed to the bark. The tree itself was pale with reddish leaves. Curiously, you touched it and found your hand stuck to the bark and it was only when you circulated enough Qi could you take your hand off.

  The scrolls all listed tasks and requirements such as 'Stone- Rank 7, must be talented in alchemy' or 'Above Stone-Rank 5, looking for a particular herb' and so on. You watched someone put their hand on the tree and wait then bee-line for a scroll.

  You put your hand back on the tree and let your Qi flow, to your eyes, five different scrolls began to glow like they were on fire.

  So, weaker cultivators couldn't take ranks higher off the tree and they could also use the tree itself to search for tasks that suited them.

  You guessed it beat paying some intern to manage it all...

  You eyed the tasks and found the tasks you could do.

  "Suitable for newcomers: Sweep the central road of leaves. 5 Merits."

  "Deliver three scrolls from the library to the instructors listed. 10 Merits."

  "Chase off Roosting Green Birds from the walls of the compound. 10 Merits"

  "Wash down the two beast statues at the east temple. Care must be taken around the fangs. 15 Merits."

  "Aid the kitchen staff in washing dishes before dinner. 10 Merits"

  You grabbed the kitchen scroll, knowing where the feast hall was easily enough.

  It didn't take long for a woman to see the scroll and snatch you into the backrooms.

  "Two workers called in sick, one is on vacation while another up and quit to follow their 'dao'. 'Dao' of my ass. They didn't like actually working," the woman said briskly.

  "I'm understaffed, overworked, and you my child," she turned to face you with an apron in hand.

  "Are my hero," she declared and then you noticed she was standing next to a huge pot. It was so big you could stand inside it and not reach the rim.

  "We need you in the pot," she said firmly and handed you a scrubbing brush that looked more experienced than your instructors.

  "Please don't leave me in there," you said meekly.

  "Just scream if someone starts filling it up with rice. It usually works," she nodded sagely. Cleaning the pot proved to be an arduous task as they cooked many rounds of rice per day and some grains were overcooked then burned into the metal. You didn't need a scrubbing brush, you needed a deadly sword to pry them off the sides.

  You put your whole body into the work, ignoring the aches as you found a rhythm of push and scrub.

  Push and scrub.

  You had become the scrub.

  Body: 6/10

  You smelled of grease, burned rice, and something metallic when you emerged from the pot like a trapped miner seeing sunshine for the first time in days. The matron of the kitchen inspected your work and looked impressed.

  "Good work ethic. Here," she guided you to a small side table where a meal of hearty fish and vegetables waited for you along with a refreshing glass of water.

  "The rice pot is not the easiest task, but I didn't hear one complaint," she praised and the fish tasted delicious.

  "Thank you," you managed between bites.

  "What's the hardest task?" you asked and she gestured to the door.

  "Serving. Some cultivators don't even see us as people but servants," she sighed and then patted your shoulder.

  "It's better in the private kitchen for the upperclassmen and instructors, they have a proper Qi Chef there," she said with a wink as if sharing something very important.

  "How do... um... how does one get access to such a kitchen?" you asked slowly and she shrugged innocently.

  "I heard a one-time purchase of 100 merits is hidden in the store. It's not easily found," she said and hurried off to pull bread out of a massive oven.

  Interesting.

  Merits gained: 14 total.

  ---

  On the way back to the huts, you were stopped near the markets by a scene of two people having an argument. A space had formed like a void by those around the noise and it let you peer at the people at the center.

  One of them you knew.

  "Farm trash will always be farm trash. I tried to be nice and direct you to easier scrolls and ideas but you're as stubborn as the bulls your family must raise," a pale girl with long dark hair tied up in a knot spat at a furious Kika.

  "You weren't nice at all! How is 'this is suitable for untalented sorts' and 'you should begin with this as you clearly lack the basics' in any way polite or kind?!" Kika said back, her eyes narrowing.

  "I am making you manage your expectations. You reach for the heavens but you are an ant. You are barely in rank 15 of our year and I am rank 2. You should remember your place," the girl said coldly.

  "Never seen a sow so pleased to win second place," Kika retorted and the girl looked like Kika had slapped her. She composed herself quickly and smiled a strange expression.

  "Since you're so confident, you'll be happy to win a little wager, no?" she asked and Kika's bluster went dry and a tinge of nervousness overcame her.

  "What bet?" she asked and the girl tapped her chin, making other girls behind her hide smirks behind their hands.

  "You are Stone-rank 4 currently and I am rank 6. If you were to reach rank six also, I would be forced to take back my words no? Especially if you can do it by the end of this first month," she proposed.

  "Rank six... that shouldn't be too hard," Kika said, letting out a breath she had been holding. The girl raised a brow, as if she had set a trap and it just sprung.

  "Oh my, I am terribly sorry. I don't want you to think you underestimate you. Rank 7 then," she corrected sweetly.

  "Hey, you can't change the goal like that!" Kika said and the girl shrugged.

  "I'm not the one that has something to prove, now do I?" she said and walked off.

  Kika shook and those around them were whispering in pity which didn't seem to be helping her control the tears that threatened to fall.

  She finally looked up as you stood before her.

  "Don't say it... I don't think I can handle a lecture on my temper getting me into stupid things right now," she said quietly.

  "I'm not here to lecture you, just offer a shoulder. You should have punched her in the face, honestly," you said after a moment, leading her away from the market to a quiet crop of smaller trees where stone benches had been almost chiseled out of exposed earth.

  "Maybe break my hand or look like an idiot. I think Makoya is at least rank 1 in body and she knows some basic self-defense," Kika buried her face in her hands.

  "How am I supposed to get to Stone-Rank 7? I only have a basic rank in my Sea of Consciousness," she said with a groan.

  "It isn't that hard, you just have to work at it," you said and she shot you a look that looked amused and despairing at the same time.

  "I don't even know how to get from rank 4 to rank 5," she admitted honestly. You recalled Instructor Kie's sheet and told Kika that she just needed a rank in a supplementary skill in what Instructor Kie called 'expression skills'.

  They weren't 'as' important as the body, dantian or the sea, but they helped a lot when trained in harmony.

  "You... would just tell me that?" Kika asked, sounding suddenly very young.

  "I just want to be your classmate and maybe friend? Cultivation is already a hard road, I don't want to walk it alone," you shrugged and she stared at you before she burst into tears.

  As your father once said...

  'Don't ask me, your mother scares me'.

  Goal obtained: Help Kika reach Stone-Rank 7 before day 30.

  ---

  You showed Kika how to train her body by showing the girl your mighty air squat technique. In a few seconds, Kika's body shook but yours was firm like stone. You didn't see the same level of growth that Kika did, but your body was already further along than before.

  In fact, you had a feeling your mighty air squat had stopped testing your body already. Your Qi was no longer reacting to it. At most, maybe it would give just a little more.

  Kika waddled off not long after, muttering about needing to lay down.

  Dei Body: 8/10

  Kika: 3/10

  ---

  When you were back in your hut, you broke the seal on your Azure Lotus scroll, finally giving the hefty thing a look over. It was a dense scroll that had those strange light-like letters that transferred the essence of the scroll to your eyes, but prevented their shapes or structure from being memorized.

  If you wanted to teach this to someone else, you would have to utterly master it personally. It covered a lot of topics, showing (somehow) how to intake Qi and let it soak in your Dantian before spreading it outwards to the rest of your body. It had two other techniques that worked the same means with the body and the sea of consciousness.

  Depending on which one you choose, one of the three would get the most benefit while the others got 'left-over' energy. It was exhausting and there were dire warnings of bone cracking, Dantian splintering, and even Sea 'drain' if it was overdone.

  It was the strangest feeling you had ever experienced. The method to take in the Qi through your Dantian was like somehow drinking ice cold water through your stomach and feeling it spread outwards as if threatening to escape.

  What happened next happened almost instantly. Your Dantian, which had always felt like a loose 'space' became solid, condensing slightly and painfully until what felt like leaf-thin walls appeared, able to contain more energy inside.

  You let out a gasp and a dark mist escaped your mouth. You stared at your hand and flowed your Qi, feeling a much more impressive amount moving now. It wasn't even just that but it was like you were pushing back at the world around you a little more with your Qi, sensing the differences in the 'flavors' of Qi from the warmth of the hut and the root beneath to the air.

  You crawled into bed, too exhausted to even appreciate your new rank in Dantian. The method... was draining to the point even your bones felt hollow.

  You needed sleep.

  ---

  Day 3 of the Nhatz Calendar.

  You had a letter.

  Giro was curious if you wanted to study your taming scrolls together before the classes started. He also left a rolled up piece of jerky in a leaf as a gift. The meat didn't look like anything in the kitchen and you nibbled some, finding it excited your Qi.

  +1 to the next training roll to any skill below rank 1.

  When you went to Giro's hut, which had a beautiful angle of the morning sun, you asked him about the meat.

  "Boro Meat, there are only 3 merits in the store for a pack of five," he said brightly.

  "It also tastes amazing!" he said, focusing on the more important aspect. You both looked at the taming scrolls and discovered something very interesting.

  While the information they transmitted was essentially the same, the phrases and words were different to suit Giro and yourself. Giro liked examples, while you preferred almost all diagrams.

  The taming scroll ended up being well worth the price you paid for it as it was able to teach students up to master the art up to rank 2! The scroll's first exercise was something it called 'Dantiem Bloom'.

  To enact taming, a cultivator had to expand their dantian to the creature they wanted to tame. This technique was the first step as it allowed the ability to open a path to your own dantian. It took some effort to get the technique to even get going.

  Both you and Giro found the technique to be useable, soon opening and closing your dantian. You could feel your newly ranked dantian giving you a slight edge but Giro's result was still very impressive.

  Dei's taming: 7 of 10

  Giro's taming: 6 of 10

  Technique learned: Dantian Bloom: Able to open and close a direct path to your dantian. Only useable once deemed safe as this can lead to deadly strikes. Mastery: 1 of 5.

  ---

  Bidding Giro farewell, you wandered over to the general elemental class. The only one listed on your map. The class was almost packed full and you could see that it was easily one of the more popular classes of the compound. You had to fight to get a seat close to the middle and even members of the top five, Kai and Makoya you spotted, couldn't get to the front where some seniors were jostling for the best seats.

  The man that emerged to teach the class looked like a pale statue that was missing pieces from wear and tear. One ear, and some of his lip was gone as the room went silent. His presence was intense. It was like trying to stare at a bright light or an intense wind.

  "That's 'Blood Claw' Mayeso," one of the people in pale blue robes whispered close by.

  "I skipped last year because the teacher was all theory, but I am not missing this year," another said excitedly.

  "Isn't he in the Beast Realm? How come he's teaching us?" someone asked and you listened to reply as best you could.

  "He turned down a student that was favored by some important families. They didn't like that," a boy said confidently.

  "Quiet," Instructor Mayeso said and his voice carried with little effort all the way to the back of the room.

  "Yesterday, we went over fire to those that turned up. Today we shall be covering wind. I don't care if your element is natural to wind, you could all do with learning why your head might fly off when you encounter someone proficient in the element," Mayeso said with a gruff tone. He tapped the board behind him with a finger and something that felt like Qi but couldn't possibly be Qi since it was so potent, like lightning compared to your wispy flow.

  The left over chalk shifted as if being pushed around until it formed letters and a diagram.

  "If you were asked which element has the most diversity to its abilities, one could argue darkness or water, but in my experience it is wind," Mayeso said and crossed his arms. His presence was commanding and your eyes would not be removed from his form.

  "Until a certain realm, we all need to breathe. A talented wind cultivator can form sharp blades, crushing forces, suffocating chambers, poisonous fumes, redirect lightning, shear flesh from bone, change rain to sun, and a lot more," he went on as he began to pace.

  "Wind is the most available element outside of earth, even light and darkness can be fleeting in places, but air has flexibility over earth's powerful forms. The moment you can no longer find air to fight, that moment is when you become entombed and will die anyway. The moment you no longer can reach the wind, is most likely when you will perish. Wind is life and flow, it teaches us to never be satisfied or to settle. It teaches us that all obstacles can be worn down. All foes can be eroded. Wind teaches us that we must fly or be crushed," Mayeso said and his voice was shaking your very sea as it was passionate without being loud.

  He eyed the room then seemed to cut the class in half with a slow lowering of his hand.

  "Those to the left of my hand will go through the door to my left, those on my right to the right door," he said and there was visible excitement in the room. You peered at his hand and found you were more to Instructor Mayeso's...

  Definitely to his left.

  "Each group will be learning a different wind technique. It's up to you if you share or horde. I'm not here for your petty squabbles," Mayeso said and the room dispersed through the doors and you found yourself in some inner stone room with glowing symbols on the wall and a line of straw-stuffed dummies on the far side.

  "Those in this group," Mayeso said as he emerged from a conjoining door between the two training rooms, "will be learning the simple 'Wind Guide' skill. It has no combat techniques in its current form, but will teach you all how to feel and move the wind," he said, trying not to sound bored but not quite succeeding.

  You spotted Kai in this group and he looked determined not to fail.

  From one wall, a massive scroll unfolded with those secretive letters, showing everyone the technique at the same time.

  The Guiding Wind Technique couldn't make wind happen or control it, all it did was lightly divert moving currents over your hands. It wasn't even able to divert strong winds. Still, it wasn't there to teach you how to cut a forest in half or change the weather. It was a stepping stone to a bigger world.

  From one side of the training room, small holes in the wall began to jet out short bursts of fresh air. You noticed that similar holes had water stains while braziers on the wall could be made to burn much brighter. On the ceiling a massive hole which poured light into the room could be sealed off by a circular disc or opened to let more light in.

  "Never seen a proper elemental room before?" Kai asked as he saw you staring. He looked around, a little impressed.

  "This one is no slouch and has history," he added as he gazed at the scroll on the wall.

  Was... was he speaking to you?

  "You're someone worth paying attention to, this is what I believe," Kai said as he wandered off to practice.

  What a weird guy. It was only by luck you noticed that pale boy before glaring at Kai then turning his dark eyes to you. There was no friendly look in those eyes.

  Your year was filled with weirdos. Thank goodness for Kika and Giro.

  You got to work, studying the technique as it showed that to use the technique would require a circulation of Qi to your hands and a sense of self against the wind.

  It wasn't easy.

  Going from accepting wind just did its own thing to trying to influence was a lot for one lesson. Even upper students and others like Kai were clearly struggling. There was one exception.

  The pale boy stood with his hand out, flows of wind bending between his fingers. He looked a little bored but did the lesson for appearance sake.

  "Student Sedit, you're supposed to be guiding, not forcing, Use less of your sea and more of your dantian," Mayeso barked. The pale boy glared but the wind around his fingers dispersed as his methods changed.

  Mayeso went around giving tips to pass the time and when he reached you, he tilted his head.

  "Just more practice, you're not doing anything wrong. You're a light natural user. Wind and Light both compliment each other when it comes to be immaterial and heavenly," he said and he sounded calm even.

  He saw you were doing your best and didn't want to give you a hard time it seemed.

  Still, the fact he knew you were a natural light user at a glance...

  Beast Rank people were terrifying.

  In the end all you could do was keep practicing.

  Dei Wind skill: 3/10

  Gained: Guiding Wind Technique: Study to increase wind skills. Mastery. 1/3.

  ---

  Needing to take a break from studying, you checked out the task board and found there was only two tasks.

  One was left over from yesterday.

  'Requires anyone to sort letters from outside. Ten merits.'

  'Wash down the two beast statues at the east temple. Care must be taken around the fangs. 15 Merits.'

  Well, since no one else wanted the statue job...

  It didn't take you too long to find the temple nestled in the east wall. It was a temple that was ground floor only made out of dark woods with painted red fences. The priest was waiting and you wondered when you accepted the task did the task giver get some sort of Qi buzz to let them know?

  "Oh good! Good! I was worried I would have to get up there myself and do the task," he said with a very wrinkled face.

  He didn't seem to be a cultivator...

  You followed his gaze to the two massive dog-like statues set on either side of the door and slightly above it. The statues were massive, easily nine feet tall and set into the temple itself.

  "These are historical artifacts you know. This temple was around before the north compound existed. It's the oldest building here and those statues are even older," the priest said with some pride.

  He leaned in with a smile.

  "Their fangs are made of real dragon teeth, so watch your fingers. They're still sharp after two thousand years," he said gently.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  What the heck was a dragon?

  "Why don't people uh take them if they're so valuable?" you had to ask and the man looked bemused.

  "They statues get offended," he said vaguely and went to fetch you a ladder and some water.

  Washing the massive statues took you hours and the moss in some places were so thick that it required furious scrubbing. You very slowly inserted your hand into their mouths to clean the teeth, feeling their fangs graze your skin but not pierce.

  If you had been any rougher or in a hurry, they would have cut deep. It was oddly nervous as if the statue could bite down at any time, the more you cleaned them the more alive they seemed.

  Still as your body ached to the point of collapsing, something strange happened, you stepped back from the statues as your body began to heat up. It was like you developed a sudden fever and you had to sit down as you sweated furiously.

  You took a moment to flow your Qi, but your body seemed to be hissing on the surface of skin and black beads of sweat formed, flowing down and away as you used the water to mop yourself down.

  The surface of your skin began to harden but not become rigid. It was an odd mixture of toughness and suppleness. Some of your marks from farm work faded as fresh tanned skin formed

  The statues watched the process and you felt that perhaps they were watching you grow but didn't interfere. The priest emerged and congratulated on the growth and threw in an extra three merits for the hard work.

  "Please come back soon. Many do not take my task as it requires precious time," he said sadly and patted you on the head.

  You now had 32 merits!

  And your body was the first rank!

  You remembered a prayer your mother did to shrines on the road when you were younger.

  You faced the temple and statues, clapping your hands twice before bowing and clapping once more. Perhaps it was just your hope, but the statues seemed a little less scary than before.

  ---

  Kika found you and asked if you wouldn't mind going to General Martial Arts with her.

  It seemed she wanted to continue training her body.

  "Also I think you're right I should have just punched Makoya and this class will teach me how," she nodded.

  The class was held in a very formal training hall with someone you knew.

  "Welcome!" Instructor Kie called and you stared at her in surprise.

  "You teach here?" you blurted out and she nodded calmly.

  "Just until my main class gets popular. After that, someone will take over," she promised. It seemed that a few students had come before and they quickly set to continue where they had been before, leaving you, Kika, Kai, and a few others in a small group.

  "Martial arts, when it comes to cultivators, is not strictly taught in styles or long-term structures," Kie began and looked at you all.

  "Can anyone guess why?" she asked.

  "Because techniques of the body designed for a Stone-Rank might lose effectiveness if you reach copper rank or above? That and also that no cultivator can ever be exactly the same so uniqueness is needed?" you guessed and she nodded to you and you felt your sleeve shift.

  She had given you three merits for the answer.

  "Indeed, like elemental techniques or some arts, the body uses techniques that mix in Qi that allows it to bypass mortal limitations. However, each technique has a limit of Qi it can handle. Too much and the technique will max out or simply fail," Kie explained.

  "Can't a technique simply be upgraded?" Kika raised her hand. Kie looked amused.

  "Of course, but to make a technique requires not only a mastery over all three of your main parts, but also a sufficient level in element or skill you wish to base the art off. To rewrite a technique to be improved would require not only bypassing the skill of the original creator but being able to look past their inscriptions or limits and evolve the art. Suffice to say, not many bother since there are countless techniques already available that can carry you to a more advanced state," Kie said, her voice clear and patient.

  "What does not limit itself is experience. What you learn in mastering a low-level technique may often surprise you aiding you in a much more demanding technique. Never be afraid to learn," she encouraged.

  You thought of your 'personal' Qi Flow technique and the improved one in Qi Control, they both were similar enough that you already mastered part of the advanced one.

  "Is there a point to learning lower techniques if you're more advanced?" you asked, honestly curiously and she smiled.

  "Of course. There's a famous example of Raton versus Riese. Riese used a powerful Iron-Rank defense technique but Raton only used a stone-rank technique to attack. Raton broke through because the offensive technique had everything just right to overcome the difference. The exact pressure, accuracy, and method," she said with a smile as if she enjoyed this story a lot.

  "As a cultivator, I would say learn everything. As your instructor I would say always try to counter techniques with a stronger rank if possible, if not... equal rank," she added.

  You looked around. Kika looked inspired while Kai looked a little dismissive as he thought power and rank was all that mattered. You spotted another of your year, a boy with a peaceful expression and he had oddly bright blue eyes.

  Kie went on to explain to start off, all students would be given the same technique scroll. An elementless body technique that could be used in combat.

  The Tree Punching technique was used often to toughen the cultivator's fist with Qi and was often used as a beginner's step. You found the technique to be very easy to use but had some issues with the build up.

  Kika was blowing others away by her sheer desire to own the technique, her will easily gapped any distance in the body rank.

  Kai... Kai looked shocked to find his own efforts only kept speed with you and Kika.

  "Kai, focus! Kika, good work! Dei, I want to see a little more repetition!" Kie called out.

  Technique skill:

  Dei: 5 of 10

  Kika: 5 of 10

  Kai: 5 of 10

  You were doing some squats to help your Qi flow when you turned to see Kika had also paused, staring at you with a flushed face and some sweat.

  "Hm?" you tilted your head at her and she swung her fist, her knuckle glowing.

  "TREE! TREE! TREE!" she yelled over and over in panic.

  "Kika, less staring at your classmates' rears and more focus!" Kie called, making Kika turn crimson.

  You wonder who she was staring at?

  Gained: Tree Punching Technique: Study for four more points in technique and 1 in body to rank 2.

  ---

  You invited Giro and Kika over to your hut to practice the martial art technique. It seemed the natural field of Qi didn't quite help with the more physical techniques but you didn't mind.

  "Giro, stop eating and practice!"

  "Kika... I'm tired."

  "Okay, have a nap then practice!" Kika barked.

  Soon, all three of you were practicing the tree punching technique. Giro lagged behind since he was getting second-hand teaching. To encourage him, you told Giro of the secret 100 merit kitchen.

  "I don't think I should go there," Giro said, surprising you and Kika looked thunderous.

  "Giro is the youngest in a family of ten. Six of them are in this sect," she said with a growl.

  "One of his brothers is a chef in the Emerald Ring for Qi food or so his letters said and Giro doesn't want to see him, they all bullied him," Kika said with annoyance.

  Bullied... Giro? Nice Giro who shared his food and was so earnest?

  They courted your fist.

  "I just want to be my own person. Not someone's little brother," Giro huffed and puffed as he circulated his Qi.

  "You're just Giro to me," you said and he looked oddly happy at that statement.

  The training went well enough and soon, you and Kika were basking in your improvements while Giro looked sort of dead.

  Dei: 8 of 10

  Kika: 8 of 10

  Giro: 1 of 10

  "Thanks... for sharing. Kika would have but you didn't have to," Giro said after a while. His short dark hair made him look younger than he likely was.

  Kika's brunette in contrast was slick with sweat.

  "You're my friends," was all you needed to say. Kika and Giro shared a look then grinned at you.

  That was when all three of you felt a weight in your sleeve.

  Slowly, each of you pulled out a small blue stone that 'breathed' Qi.

  Gained: Loyalty Stone: Increase all rolls by 1 for the next two days.

  Unsure if being watched, you all bowed around in gratitude.

  ---

  Unseen in the trees above, Mayeso smiled to himself as he retracted his Qi from the instructor tablet in his pocket.

  He had a good feeling about this year of little seedlings.

  End of Day 3 of the Nhatz Calendar

  ---

  Day 4 of Nhatz Calendar

  The next day, you walked with Pola to Instructor Kie's Qi and Cultivation class. Kika and Giro were either already gone or sleeping in this morning.

  "I'm very interested in inscriptions because they can be used to set up barriers that keep beasts out. The outer villages don't have any because they require a dedicated power source or cultivator around," Pola explained and you discovered she came from a village even further out than your own.

  "Will you be going back home to manage a barrier?" you asked and she shook her head.

  "I want to create a barrier that can work off ambient Qi and the elements. I think they might exist but most villages will be too poor to afford them or unable to reach a cultivator to set one up," she admitted sadly.

  "It could work," you said, thinking such barriers had to give something up to work in such a way. Pola saw your face and smiled.

  "I don't expect them to stop real monsters, but even a blanket with holes is better than being naked in winter," she said almost wisely.

  In class, Instructor Kie's class had gained five new students, giving weight to her words before how the class would slowly be seen as valuable. You didn't see Kai, Makoya or any of the top five.

  "How do we determine ranks? How can some with 3 ranks each in the main attributes be considered only Stone-rank 4?" Kie asked as she relaxed on a mat with her legs crossed, her odd cat in her lap.

  "Qi itself determines your rank, no human or beast. The very essence of life changes in density and amount based on your capabilities. Heaven and earth seemed to sort you but it's only in the last 5000 years that we properly sorted the system into a numerical value that Qi worked with," Kie said slowly.

  "So, those unwilling to learn skills or elements can never be considered strong?" a boy asked and Kie looked a little sad suddenly.

  "Most cases would agree, but those who use the proper techniques or cultivations actually step outside the ranking system. Such people go Stone-rank low, medium, and high, Copper-rank low, medium, and high, so on and so on," she explained and she rubbed her neck as if remembering something.

  She explained that their growth reduced the steps needed and allowed such people to gain power in a short amount of time.

  "Such techniques can be Inheritance techniques, left over by powerful cultivators with no heirs, very immoral demonic techniques that will make you outcast by most cultivators, or a special routine of herbs and unorthodox methods," Kie went on.

  "On that note, I shall let you lucky students know what I, and the sect, expect of you at the end of the month," she said brightly.

  "Stone-Rank 6, two supplementary skills gained, one of which is any element, and one technique mastered from any skill," she listed and the words felt strange as if you only understood them because Kie was allowing you to do so.

  "And there are additional things you can do to improve your standing. Ten tasks undertaken in the compound, two expedition missions under your belt, and a few other things. I believe Student Dei already has one such mark. Priest Gollas sends his regards. He found your work effort very impressive," Kie said and you blinked at her.

  Interesting.

  Goal revealed: Reach Stone-rank 6, gain rank 1 in two skills (one of which is an element), and master a technique before day 30.

  ---

  You invited Kika and Giro to master the tree punch but Kika ended up sadly being busy with 'Jian training' class. Pola, however, was curious about your invitation and filled the slot.

  "So, I just punch?" Pola mused as she gathered Qi to her fist near the temple grounds, the two statues watching over you, Giro, and Pola.

  "Well, it's a bit more complicated than that," you began but she shifted and swung her arm, Qi making her knuckles shine with a resplendent light. The sound of the air shifting was loud like a pop.

  "Oh, it's just like a force improvement inscription!" she beamed as Giro stared at her. Pola began to talk about the inscription but...

  Required rank of inscription: 2

  Current: 0

  It sounded like she was speaking a fever dream aloud.

  "I... didn't understand that," you admitted and Pola covered her mouth.

  "I didn't mean to sound arrogant! Apologies!" she bowed to you and Giro.

  "It's impressive how passionate you are," Giro admitted and you nodded, making Pola smile shyly.

  "It just makes sense when I look at basic inscriptions," she said softly. Not wanting to fall behind, you and Giro got into form and began to practice.

  Pola technique: 7 of 10.

  Giro: 5 of 10

  Dei: mastery.

  As you made the sudden jab forward with Qi flowing, you felt the technique click in your heart and soul. Your Qi flowed much smoother as the technique became almost fixed in place, a piece of art you could produce on command. The constant training of the technique even taught you something about your arm muscles and how to snap them forward.

  Dei: technique +1 and body +1

  Having mastered the tree punching technique, Dei allows those he teaches to gain +1 to their rolls.

  You were just finishing up when Giro snapped his head to the statues of the temple with a startled look.

  "I... thought I heard something. Like someone was calling to me," he shivered and said his farewells as he fled the temple grounds and you had the strangest feeling something 'left' with him.

  Strange...

  ---

  Giro gains +1 body and 5/10 to his sea.

  ---

  Giro didn't answer when you tried to invite him to study the taming scroll so you returned to your hut to do it on your own.

  The scroll went on to discuss various reactions to taming and how best to prepare yourself for sharing your own existence with another being. Perhaps it was how it was conveyed or just how the late afternoon sun hit your eyes, but the words before you sharpened into focus and the space in your dantian along your sea of consciousness became more apparent.

  There was space inside you that you just knew that could be given safely to another in return for the same.

  Taming rank 1 achieved.

  Rank 1: 3 of 10 gained.

  Taming Rank 1 passive: Can no longer suffer sea of consciousness damage from trying to tame beasts of a lower rank and failing outside extreme circumstances.

  Sea of Consciousness gains 1 point. 1 of 10.

  As you settled, something even more intense began to overtake you. Your body, sea, and dantian pulsed in harmony as you felt tiny pieces of your body break down only to be made stronger.

  Your senses sharpened just a little and your mind felt clear like a winter morning. There was no black stuff that emerged but it was like light mingled in your skin before going dormant.

  Stone-Rank 5 achieved.

  This was... you had achieved a new rank. The statement was undeniable as if the world itself made it irrefutable. It took long minutes for you to just adapt to the changes you had undergone before you slowly moved to your bed and pulled your sheet out from Instructor Kie from a hidden hole in the wall. The next line was readable, revealing what you needed next for rank 6.

  Stone-Rank 6: Rank 1 in two elements or skills.

  Making a mental note of your more physical skills versus your elements, you were lagging a little behind in the element department and having one mastered to rank 1 was needed to pass the end of the month test.

  You swung by the general element class once more and went a little earlier to get closer to the front, not wanting to miss anything. You finally saw a hanging scroll on one of the walls you had missed yesterday due to the number of people in the room.

  Yesterday: Wind

  Today: Light

  Tomorrow: Earth

  Mayeso appeared and looked at the class and you saw it was far less crowded than wind had been. You spotted Kika, Kai, Sedit, and Makoya.

  "Some folks only turn up for their innate element. Fools," Mayeso said with a shake of his head as he used chalk to draw some words.

  "Let me get this out of the way before we begin. All elements have a physical self and a spiritual self. Earth is both the soil beneath your feet and the pulsing life energy all around you. Wind is a physical force while also having the concepts of change and movement. Light is no different, it is not some all consuming force of goodness and gentle power," Mayeso grunted. On the board he had drawn lines and waves surrounding a rather clear picture of a person while next to him he drew a person with those same lines emerging from their body.

  "Once your eyes reach a certain rank, you begin to see far better in the dark and light 'spreads' itself out into waves of color and patterns. The world becomes food for the eyes as every color pops and colors you can't even imagine reveal themselves to you. Light is a lot like that in essence, simple if you don't think about it, but a trove of secrets and revelations under the surface," he began to lecture.

  "Masters of light can shift the light around them to fool the senses of others or create illusions from thin air. Others can condense light to beams or blades that sear before cutting your flesh. Others can make constructs as solid as marble but shifting as water," the instructor went on.

  "That's just one side of it. Light Qi can be used to enhance other forms of Qi or utterly ravish it. Darkness can mute or conceal, but light can burn or reveal. Some users of light have been known to be able to use light to cross vast distances or even temporarily turn night to day from a wave of their energy. Light is known to be used in the more medicinal or heal-related arts but that's only because of how it enhances innate properties. Light itself does not heal," he warned as he put down the chalk.

  He turned to face the class.

  "A light-enhanced poison will look beautiful but it will kill you twice as fast," he concluded.

  "Since there is less than half of you than wind, I suppose you'll all learn the same technique this time and the top three students who impress me will get an additional scroll to take away," Mayeso said with a bored expression.

  This got you excited and you shared a look with Kika who gave you a grin in return. You returned to the same room as before but Instructor Mayeso had the skyhole open to its fullest, letting in late afternoon rays of sunshine.

  The scroll on the wall unfurled itself to reveal a technique called 'Inner Glow'.

  It described how one could absorb natural sunlight and release it a small time later to illuminate a space. There was a hard limit on the technique to only take in light element Qi equal to a Stone-Rank 4 user so it wasn't combat useful.

  Just like the wind technique really.

  It turned out that your advancement wasn't just a number in your head as when you tried to 'soak' in the light qi and mix it into your dantian for storage, it was a lot easier than wind. It just felt like you could grasp it easier.

  There was also something very familiar about light as if you had known it all your life. To your surprise, storing light Qi even reminded you of the Taming scroll, how it taught you to ready yourself to 'store' foreign Qi.

  You took in the light and walked to a dark corner, exhaling as you let your Qi flow with the light and you began to glow a soft warm light. It felt warm but also just on the verge of being hot.

  Inner Glow Mastery: 1 of 2. Able to grant 3 more points of light. Mastering grants 1 point to Dantian if below rank 1.

  Dei Light: 8/10

  You turned to see Mayeso watching you with a smile.

  "Very good," he said and announced the winners.

  You, Kai, and Kika. You three had beaten even seniors a year older than you. Kika's glow was bright, but it had a jagged edge to it as if it was trying to slip her control and Kai radiated a glow like a gem. Makoya looked livid as if she had personally been insulted and Sedit didn't look surprised at the result but he was still disappointed in himself.

  Mayeso passed scrolls over to you and warned they would only open with a rank 1 skill in the light element. Kai looked unimpressed and the seal on his scroll parted with little effort a second later.

  "Why do you even bother showing up?" Kika muttered and Kai smiled at her.

  "Only a fool turns down free techniques," he said and left the classroom.

  "That kid is going to burn bright or go supernova on some poor guy," Mayeso summed up as he shook his head and left too.

  Still, to think Kai was already 'at least' rank 1 in light. That made you... not happy and you wanted to move ahead and catch up.

  "I'm sorry!" Kika said as a student who walked past her glowing self fell to the ground, looking confused and alarmed as her Qi lashed out without direction.

  You might as well help Kika train too before she set people on fire with her mind.

  ---

  "It's not that I don't use my dantian but sometimes I just think too hard about things and my sea overflows and messes with the whole process. I want to let it flow but I'm also really wanting it to flow faster," Kika said, throwing her hands up as you both got comfy in your hut.

  "What is your innate element?" you asked curiously and Kika blew out a sigh

  "Water," she mumbled and you stared at her.

  You didn't see Kika as a gentle stream or rain. Kika was closer to a tsunami that wiped out villages on a whim.

  "I wanted lightning but apparently that requires me to be able to build up energy or a type of person that is exact in their purpose or something," she sighed as she pulled out the Inner Glow scroll to study it.

  You and Kika talked about the technique, how it felt. You had run out of good sunshine, but the technique did 'work' with candlelight and moonlight. There was a strange vibe of using moonlight compared to sunlight, but it wasn't altogether unpleasant.

  You found you soon comprehended the technique and found it just stopped growing in your mind. It was just like the Tree Punching technique in the sense that there was only so much 'formed' and once you hit that level, it stopped offering you anything.

  You mentally prodded the scroll and found that it wasn't like the technique had walls or gates stopping you from accessing more but the formation of information literally just 'stopped' beyond a point.

  You wondered what it would take to advance the technique? You eyed the formation and it just hurt your head. You knew that you were nowhere close.

  Inner Glow mastered!

  Unable to improve this ability: Cultivation Rank too low. Light rank too low. Technique rank too low. Main stats too low.

  Inner Glow. Personal Rank: Stone-Rank 5. A technique that can take in different sources of light and store them to be used later. Mastery of this technique allows you to direct the light to a single part of your body for a stronger and longer lasting source of light. It's strength would roughly equal to a burning candle. This technique can have uses in countering equal or lower ranked elements used to obscure or attracted things lured by light.

  You watched as the light danced around your fingers and suddenly it clicked that the gentle glow wasn't just something that made it easier to see. It was a lot more and you stared as you had the strangest feeling that things had to be 'happening' in light to make it stand out.

  Light traveled and grew weaker as it did so so light had to have a form or maybe countless little forms and maybe little legs?

  It occurred to you how much light there had to be to make it daytime and you suddenly felt so very small but the light continued to dance around your fingers.

  This light was coming from you and perhaps other beings would one day be as awed as you were when they saw it?

  Light was amazing.

  Light rank 1 achieved! Overflow of 2!

  2 of 10

  Kika's aura was more contained this time and it wasn't just her mastery of the technique, Kika was focusing but she was relaxed and at ease as she worked and her aura mirror that. It was less aggressive and shifting, being more of a relaxed oval now.

  Kika light: 9 of 10.

  "Can... Can I watch you open that scroll? I mean I can wait and open mine but if you want to share any details I would... appreciate it," Kika said, flushing. You nodded at her without hesitation.

  The scroll was closed and you had to circulate both your own qi and light qi through its seal to make it open. You could see some very tricky locks in the future requiring some mastery of elements to open.

  Kika hissed and had to look away as she rubbed her eyes, the strain of the letters on the page too much for her but you explained what you could to her without telling her exactly how to do it because there was a massive warning at the top of the technique that said that those that didn't have the correct sill to use this could suffer blindness.

  It ominously didn't say if it was temporary or not.

  The technique was called 'Revealing Eyes' and it allowed someone to see basic inscriptions or items using Qi briefly.

  Revealing Eyes: Rank- Stone 6. Requires 1 Light, 1 Body, and at least stone-rank 5 to use safely. Training with this skill will grant 4 points of light up to rank 2 and 1 to the body up to rank 2. Mastery: 0 of 3.

  You had a feeling that since it was a technique of a rank higher than your current, it might even be harder to study.

  Kika bid you goodnight, forgetting to turn off her glow on the way back to her and attracting a dozen night bugs like a lantern.

  It was a good night and you went to bed, exhausted.

  Your dreams came slowly and oddly, you were a being of Qi walking through a garden filled with mist. You didn't feel alarmed or scared because you no longer had the emotions of physical beings. You were of life and stars.

  You walked to the end of a garden with countless shapeless and happy figures, ignoring them to see a staircase made of light at the end of the garden. Emotions began to stir as you took the first step, skin forming and feelings returning.

  The stairs seemed to never end and there was millions, no even more than that, all climbing it at the same time. Very occasionally beings of Qi dived off the stairs into a dark abyss below, their light turning to the same absences of humanity.

  They grew demonic wings, flying under the stairs in its shadows.

  You went to take a second step and abruptly woke up, covered in sweat.

  You climbed out of bed and found your own existence was more profound. Your flesh and spirit could feel the earth and heavens like distant songs and in return the world seemed to lift you up like a cloud.

  You had already achieved a second advancement?

  Stone-Rank 6 obtained.

  You quickly checked the sheet to see what was needed next.

  Stone-Rank 7: Requires 1 main stat to be 2 or higher and 2 elements learned

  You looked over your tools and could see very easily how it was only going to get harder to get higher in the ranks.

  But the heavens would fear Dei Nhatz!