Chapter 9: Ch 9 – Cultivation

Three days passed within the starship. 

During this time, Issac worked quickly to integrate the new galactic terminal into Nifty. This was finished by the second day, and when he was done, Issac took a look at the cat. 

Nifty had a great many gadgets within him. Issac had a lot of spare time over his years on the farm, and Nifty was the main focus of much of it. Thus, everything that comprised Nifty's body was refined to the utmost, perfected in every way it could be. The only thing that would make Nifty better was more advanced technology. 

Now, there was also the terminal. Issac had taken apart the terminal and grabbed its core components, using the nanite tech within Nifty's tail to attach the terminal processor and transmitters to Nifty's core systems. Once the hardware was in place, Issac had Nifty do several diagnostic tests and security wipes in order to make sure the software on the terminal wouldn't corrupt Nifty's own data. Until now, Nifty had been a closed system with no connections to anything. Attaching him to a galactic transmitter was risky business, so Issac made sure to lock him down with the best quantum security features. He also installed some backup drives and hardware locks, ensuring Issac could keep Nifty's core programming and file storage safe no matter what software attacks were thrown his way. 

With that, Issac had no more worries about things like hacking. Afterward, he had Nifty boot everything up. As that happened, Issac put on a pair of glasses. 

The glasses lens flashed, a long line of system dialog flashing across Issac's eyes. Then, the software booted. Issac was quick to see the home screen of the terminal. 

When Issac wasn't jacked into a computer, he often used something like these glasses to communicate directly with Nifty, not unlike his mother who did the same with her own computers. Nifty had a direct wireless connection to Issac's neural implant, and he could have the neural implant connect to other things like these glasses. With this three way connection, Issac was able to utilize Nifty's systems and control them with his thoughts. The glasses were merely a display that he could look at and read. 

Seeing everything work properly, Issac was happy. Grabbing a chair, he kicked back with a drink in hand, sipping it and messing around with the terminal. Soft lights flashed in his eyes, the display changing rapidly according to his thoughts. The software behind the terminal was quickly changed to Issac's liking. This thing could also access the galactic net, providing Issac with a vast source of quick knowledge. Though, while shuttling with the fracture drive, no signals could be sent or received. 

As he did this though, he was interrupted by Anthony who came walking over. Anthony saw Issac, who was in a tank top and reclined in a seat in the midst of tons of cargo. He also saw the makeshift workstation that looked like a chaotic mess. 

Seeing how Issac was occupied though, Anthony suddenly had a thought and squatted down. He gradually made his way through the cargo, creeping up behind Issac. Eventually, he came upon the chair Issac was in. 

As he was about to strike with a surprise attack though, Issac's ear suddenly twitched. Out of nowhere, his hand sparked, and with a flick, a small baton of hardlight was created. Issac swung his arm and body around, his eyes sharp. 

Seeing this attack, Anthony was surprised before raising his arm. The baton whacked his forearms, causing them to sting. The next moment though, he went to grab Issac's arm. 

Seeing this attempt at a reversal, Issac's face was blank as pulled his arm out of the way. Then, he skillfully brought up his leg, swinging it with a roundhouse kick.

"Hey!"

Anthony shouted as he bent his body backward, dodging the leg. Right when Issac's leg came down though, he kicked right back out, hitting Anthony in the chest and causing him to stagger.

Issac smirked as Anthony crashed into a pile of boxes. Once he steadied himself, Anthony scoffed and took a nearby seat. 

"You're an ass."

"You forget that I'm better than you at martial arts."

Issac chuckled as he looked at the display in his eye. Anthony crossed his arms. 

"No, your senses are just better."

"And my coordination and reflexes."

"That's because of your power. Honestly though, I don't understand how your nervous system can handle such high electrical activity all the time."

Anthony shook his head. Issac's power controlled light and by extension all things electromagnetic. A byproduct was his neurons being much more electrically potent. This made things like his senses much more sensitive and his mental response times much faster. He was also more coordinated since he had control over every muscle in his body.

However, this boost in neural activity and sensitivity also came with its downsides. Because Issac was much more sensitive, things like pain would be felt much more thoroughly. Not only that, but if he wasn't careful he could fry his neurons due to overactivity. His main way to circumvent this was his neural implant which could dampen his nerves and take on some of the neural load. For him, the neural implant was an essential part of his body. 

Of course, Anthony wasn't completely aware of all this. After sighing, he gazed at Nifty who was curled up on a box next to Issac. 

"...So are you ready for school?"

"I think I am. Apparently I have a rather solid foundation already."

"Of course you do. You've been taught by a Level 4 dark technician since you were a teenager. While you don't even have the sheer knowledge of a normal level 2 technician, you've got the intelligence of a level 3 at least. You're already ahead of the game, ahead of even people who have been learning dark tech since they were children."

"What makes you think that?"

Issac turned his head curiously. 

Anthony shrugged. 

"You forget that I have much more practical galactic knowledge than you do. I've long known about the Mantle and have done some studying on it since I had a feeling my father would send me there. At that place, the people who have the greatest technician talent are usually those with level 3 knowledge around the age of 20, and those are people who study from the time they're like 5 years old. That makes up the small minority though, and normally people at that age can only comprehend level 2 knowledge."

"Is level 2 knowledge really that hard to comprehend?"

"Of course! You think anyone can just understand all that crap? I haven't the slightest idea about how quantum mechanics works while you seem to know all about it, at least enough to develop your own quantum computer and quantum algorithms or whatever they're called. That's why I stick to flying mechs and increasing my power. I leave that technical stuff to people like you."

"Huh. Interesting."

"Yea. You're a scientific freak."

Anthony chuckled for a second while Issac pondered. 

"Anyway, that actually brings me to something I wanted to ask. I want you to be my technician when we're at the Mantle. You're the only one I trust with my suit and mech. Of course, you're going to be paid well for your services."

"Oh. Alright."

"Sweet! Believe me, getting a trustworthy and reliable technician on your side isn't easy. I'm lucky you're here. Also, my father wanted me to tell you that there's no rush to work on those mechs of his. He wants you to gain experience and knowledge since that would help you meet his standard. Even if it takes a few years, he has time."

"Sure. Hopefully it won't take a few years, but I'll do my best."

Issac nodded before his glasses suddenly shut down. 

"...I need to talk with my parents. I'll be right back."

Issac suddenly mumbled before standing and leaving the cargo bay. Anthony shrugged and hung around, locking eyes with Nifty who continued to laze around inside a box.

..........

"Am I supposed to be cultivating?"

"Hm?"

Max's eyebrow raised at the question. Despite not having much of a reaction, his head began to rapidly think. 

"...Asphodel talked to you about cultivation?"

"Just a little. She said that she did, and was surprised that I didn't."

"Mm. Take a seat."

Max motioned over to a table, sitting across from Issac. The two faced each other, Max tapping the metal armrest of his chair. 

"Cultivation is a way to grow your soul. Everyone with powers is capable of making their soul stronger, increasing its ability to store and utilize dark energy. Now, the growing period for every soul is between 20 and 25 years. It's usually good to let a soul mature fully before doing anything with it. You're right at the age where you could start cultivating."

"Okay."

"But you won't be."

Just as Issac was feeling excited about the possibility of cultivating, Max shut him down. Issac's face dropped. 

"Why not?"

"...I'm not gonna lie to you, Issac. There are certain things that happened to you in your childhood. To cultivate requires you to control the dark energy within your soul. Well, let's just say that you're not normal in the soul department. But don't worry. Your mother and I want you to grow, so you'll need to cultivate eventually. But, that will happen after you recover."

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"So my soul was hurt?"

Issac quickly inferred what happened, causing Max to grunt a bit. 

"Sometimes I forget how smart you are. Yes, your soul got hurt. It's been recovering ever since you were a baby. Even now, your power is still increasing, correct?"

"Yes."

"When that stops, then you can cultivate, because your soul will have fully recovered. And please don't ask why your soul was hurt. We can't tell you, and I shouldn't have even told you that much. But I trust you to keep a tight lip, about all your secrets. When in doubt, just don't let people know certain bits of information. Keep your cards close to your chest. Your mother is worried about you blabbing about certain things, but I'm not. Can I trust you?"

"...Yes."

"Good."

Max nodded, taking a sip of some coffee. It was technically morning for them. 

"We'll be arriving at the Mantle in a few more hours. When you first enter, you'll be completely evaluated. That'll be the time to exercise your acting skills. Also, don't activate your shadow. Pretend as if Hardlight is your only power and as if you're a perfectly normal and ambitious boy. Follow along, answer questions, and we'll handle your placement. Alright?"

"Alright."

"Mm. Also, just so you know, you're a bit young for this place. You're entering at the end of your generation, so your 'class' will all be older than you and Anthony. They've had more years in the Mantle and to study, but you've got the knowledge under your belt to keep up. Be ready to exercise that brain of yours. Though, because of your younger age, you'll also be one of the more talented ones. Regardless, just keep to yourself and keep your distance from the hawks."

"Hawks?"

"You'll know soon enough."

Max sighed before taking another sip. With that, nothing more needed to be said. Issac would have to figure everything out for himself. 

Since there were only a few more hours left, Issac went back to his quarters. He had his own room, though it wasn't large.

He sat down on his bed, going into thought. Suddenly, he plucked a black crystal from his pocket. It was the one Asphodel gave to him, supposedly something related to cultivating. 

"...Silicon?"

Issac felt the crystal curiously. Many often talked about Dark Iron being the most common and valuable material in the universe. It was a kind of dark matter and was the foundation for all dark tech in the universe. 

But Iron was only one of the elements dark matter could form. Technically, all elements could be formed, but their rarities differed. According to what Issac knew, an element's nuclear stability or its binding energy is what determined its rarity. As Iron was the most stable element in the universe, it was the most common dark material. Its uses also ranged wildly, making it extremely valuable. 

On the other hand, there were a large amount of other materials found as well alongside dark iron deposits. Any element on the periodic table with an atomic number near Iron was, while not as common, still prevalent.

This crystal was obviously not dark iron, but another dark material. Issac guessed it was silicon by its feel, but this couldn't be confirmed as dark material didn't radiate light. Only a chemical test would let Issac know what element the crystal was made from. 

"I wonder what exactly this does..."

He felt the crystal curiously. While he had never cultivated and was just recently informed that he shouldn't, Issac was naturally very curious about the soul and cultivation in general. He wondered exactly what this crystal could do to help. 

Then, he suddenly noticed something. The crystal's shape seemed to indicate the ability to plug it into something. 

"...Nifty, come here."

Issac mumbled. A couple minutes later, the cat made its way over from the cargo bay, entering Issac's room. It jumped onto his lap, taking the crystal from his hands. 

Then, Nifty's tail split in two. One of the tails tapped into the connections on the crystal while the other tail jacked into Issac's neural interface on the back of his skull. Once the two were connected, Issac suddenly felt his awareness go foggy. 

It was like he left his body, the crystal beckoning him out and into space. The surroundings became totally void of sensory information. Issac lost all his senses, and his mind seemed to escape his mortal shackles. 

This lasted until Issac began to observe the new place he was in. The space around him now fluctuated with moving energies, flashing tons of different colors and exploding with ribbons of brilliance. It wasn't simply fancy lights. It was unlike anything Issac had experienced before. 

"An out of body experience..."

He mumbled before looking at himself. He could see every detail of his new body. Or, it wasn't his body, but his soul. He seemed to intuitively understand this as he observed his figure that resembled his physical body. 

His body was completely white, like it was made of light. Even this white figure showed off the detail of Issac's body, making him look human yet ethereal. 

Then, he was intrigued. Issac could see cracks across his soul. They looked pretty bad, almost like cracks in space. They seemed to split open his white soul like lethal wounds. Despite this, the light within him didn't spill out. 

"I guess these are the injuries dad talked about... But why couldn't I cultivate with these injuries? Am I just not able to?"

Issac was curious. Out of nowhere though, he looked at the space in front of him. Another person had appeared. 

It wasn't anybody that Issac personally knew. The big indicator of this was the person's Aatrix appearance. The man had crystal hair that flowed with white, like Asphodel's snowy hair. He also had intricate markings across his face and body, standing with an overbearing posture and gazing down upon Issac like a king. 

At first, Issac thought that the person in front of him was actually real. Those eyes flashed with a deep intelligence and wisdom, almost looking through Issac's soul. 

But the man didn't speak. Instead, Issac saw the energy around him fluctuate. It became active and rushed toward his body. 

The dark energy surrounding the man coalesced within his soul, forming a dense core of dark energy that seemed to become a permanent fixture within his head. 

The process was complex yet simple. The energy formed a vortex like a black hole that pulled everything into its center. At first the vortex was weak, much of the energy within the soul not following the funnel of force that beckoned it. But over time, the vortex got stronger, and all energy within the soul was pulled into the core of the vortex. From then on, the vortex became permanent and self-sustaining, constantly keeping the core's form. 

It was then that the man stopped. With that vortex, he could make his power denser and more forceful. In all, the man's dark energy capacity doubled.

Issac was enlightened. This was the purpose of cultivating. To increase one's dark energy storage and give them greater power!

After a while though, the man suddenly continued. The power of the vortex increased exponentially, and the surrounding dark energy was pulled in. The original core that had formed was vague, barely visible within the soul. But now, that core compressed, becoming a tiny black bead. After that, the surrounding dark energy was continually condensed, building upon that black bead. Of course, this required greater vorticular force, and it was a slow process. 

But it happened. At some point, the core went from a bead to a large orb, filling the man's head with pure power and doubling his energy reserves once more. The orb within his head was now completely tangible, like a physical item you could touch. It was a whole other level of power. 

Finally, the man began to fade away, finished with his demonstration. Issac now understood what this was. The vision of the man in front of him was meant to display the cultivation method. 

At first, Issac only thought he had to copy the cultivation method from what he saw. It didn't seem too difficult. 

Only, he underestimated the crystal that Asphodel gave to him. 

Suddenly, Issac felt the dark energy around him move of its own accord. He could feel the power of the crystal and how it began to guide his soul. He felt his own power begin to condense the dark energy within his soul, just as the man did. He could feel all the little details and concepts behind the cultivation method, like information being implanted into his brain. 

At first, it felt really nice. Just a little bit of energy condensing made Issac feel like he was increasing his power by leaps and bounds. His soul even seemed eager to condense the energy, forming the vaguest outline of a core in his head. 

But then, Issac shuddered. The wounds on his soul suddenly flashed, and he was instantly overwhelmed by indescribable pain. 

"Agh..!"

In the real world, Issac let out a short shout before his body trembled. Then, he collapsed, his body involuntarily shuddering. 

Of course, after immediately sensing something was wrong, Nifty detached the crystal, cutting the connection. Like that, it wasn't more than a second after Issac's soul reacted that the pain stopped and the guided cultivation ceased. Still, Issac spasmed a few more times before going still. His heartbeat was erratic, almost threatening to stop. 

Suddenly, Nifty ate the crystal, the palm sized object disappearing into its body. Immediately after, the door to Issac's room was thrown open, Victoria gazing upon her collapsed son. 

"Issac!"

 

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